Editing Occupation of Japan (section)

== Background ==
=== Initial planning ===
American planning for a post-war occupation of Japan began as early as February 1942, when President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] established an [[Advisory Committee on Postwar Foreign Policy]] to advise him on the postwar reconstruction of [[Nazi Germany|Germany]], [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Italy]], and Japan ([[Axis powers]]). On matters related to Japan, this committee was later succeeded by the smaller Inter-Departmental Area Committee on the Far East (IDAFE), which met 234 times between the autumn of 1942 and the summer of 1945 and had frequent discussions with two US presidents, Roosevelt and [[Harry S. Truman]].{{sfn|Barnes|2017|p=32-33}}

During the war, the Allied Powers had planned to divide Japan amongst themselves for the purposes of occupation, as was done for the [[Allied-occupied Germany]]. Under the final plan, however, [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers]] (SCAP) was to be given direct control over the main islands of Japan ([[Honshu]], [[Hokkaido]], [[Shikoku]], and [[Kyushu]]) and the immediately surrounding islands, while outlying possessions were divided between the Allied Powers as follows:
* [[Soviet Union]]: [[Soviet Civil Administration|Northern Korea]], [[South Sakhalin]], and the [[Kuril Islands]]
* [[United States]]: [[United States Army Military Government in Korea|Southern Korea]], [[Okinawa Islands]], the [[Amami Islands]], the [[Ogasawara Islands]] and Japanese possessions in [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands|Micronesia]]
* [[Republic of China (1912–49)|China]]: [[Taiwan after World War II|Taiwan]] and [[Penghu]]

In early August 1945, with [[Surrender of Japan|Japan's surrender]] seeming probable, the US [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] recommended to President [[Harry S. Truman]] that Pacific Theatre Commander General [[Douglas MacArthur]] be named [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers]] (SCAP) to oversee the surrender and occupation of Japan.{{sfn|Takemae|2002|p=48}} Truman agreed, and MacArthur asked his staff in [[Manila]] to begin making concrete preparations for the occupation of Japan.{{sfn|Takemae|2002|p=48}}

As the Soviets moved in to occupy their allotted territories, some Japanese forces continued to resist even after the Japanese surrender. Such operations included final battles on the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin well past the end of August in 1945. In the end, despite its initial hopes, the Soviet Union did not manage to occupy any part of the Japanese home islands, largely due to significant U.S. opposition that was backed by the leverage gained by its then newly realized status as the world's only nuclear-armed state.

In any case, Soviet leader [[Joseph Stalin]] was not inclined to press the Americans very far following Japan's surrender. He was not willing to place Soviet troops under MacArthur's direct command. Furthermore, in terms of both strategic interests and prestige the Soviets had achieved most of their war aims in the Far East. Moreover, whereas China, Korea and Japan were all a considerable distance from the USSR's European heartland, Stalin regarded establishing a powerful buffer against further military threats from the west to be vital to the Soviet Union's future existence. He therefore placed a far greater priority on establishing [[Eastern Bloc|Soviet communist influence in Europe]] rather than in Asia.

===Japanese surrender and initial landings===
{{Main|Surrender of Japan}}

Following the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|dropping of atomic bombs]] and the [[Soviet–Japanese War|entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan]], on the night of 9–10 August 1945, Emperor [[Hirohito]] announced his decision that the Japanese government should accept the terms demanded by the Allies in the [[Potsdam Declaration]] to [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Kantarō Suzuki]] and [[Kantarō Suzuki Cabinet|his administration]].<ref>Bix, ''Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan'' pp. 525-526</ref> On August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced [[Hirohito surrender broadcast|Japan's surrender to the Japanese people in a nationwide radio broadcast]]. Two days after Japanese Emperor's first radio broadcast informing the surrender of Japan, [[Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni]] (a member of Japanese imperial family and father-in-law of Hirohito's eldest daughter, [[Shigeko Higashikuni]]) became first post-war Prime Minister on August 17, 1945.

Japanese officials left for [[Manila]] on August 19 to meet MacArthur and to discuss surrender terms. On August 28, 1945, a week before the official surrender ceremony, 150 US personnel flew to [[Atsugi]], [[Kanagawa Prefecture]]. They were followed by the [[USS Missouri (BB-63)|USS ''Missouri'']],<ref>{{cite video |year=1945 |title=Video: Allied Forces Land In Japan (1945) |url=https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.39078 |publisher=[[Universal Newsreel]] |access-date=February 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225213159/http://www.archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.39078 |archive-date=February 25, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> whose accompanying vessels landed the [[4th Marine Regiment (United States)|4th Marine Regiment]] on the southern coast of Kanagawa. The [[11th Airborne Division (United States)|11th Airborne Division]] was airlifted from [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] to [[Naval Air Facility Atsugi|Atsugi Airdrome]], {{convert|30|mi|km|-1|order=flip}} from [[Tokyo]]. Other Allied personnel followed.

MacArthur arrived in Tokyo on August 30 and immediately decreed several laws. No Allied personnel were to assault Japanese people or eat the scarce Japanese food. Flying the ''[[Hinomaru]]'' (sun disc), [[Flag of Japan|national flag of Japan]] was initially severely restricted (although individuals and prefectural offices could apply for permission to fly it); this restriction was partially lifted in 1948 and completely lifted the following year.<ref name="flag"><!-- Please leave multiple references &amp; quotes. This has been a point of contention leading to multiple instances of article reversion --></ref>

On September 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered with the signing of the [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender]]. On September 6, U.S. President Truman approved a document titled "[[U.S. Initial Post-Surrender Policy for Japan]]".<ref>text in ''Department of State Bulletin'', September 23, 1945, pp. 423–427.</ref> The document set two main objectives for the occupation: eliminating Japan's war potential and turning Japan into a [[democracy|democratic]] nation with pro-[[United Nations]] orientation.

===Size and scope===

[[File:5th Gurkha Rifles, Japan 1946.jpg|thumb|May 1946: The Indian Army 2nd Battalion [[5th Royal Gurkha Rifles]] march through [[Kure, Hiroshima]] soon after their arrival in Japan.]]
By the end of 1945, around 430,000 American soldiers were stationed throughout Japan.{{sfn|Takemae|2002|p=65}} Of the main Japanese islands, [[Kyushu]] was occupied by the [[U.S. 24th Infantry Division|24th Infantry Division]], with some responsibility for [[Shikoku]]. [[Honshu]] was occupied by the [[1st Cavalry Division (United States)|First Cavalry Division]] and [[Sixth United States Army|Sixth Army]]. [[Hokkaido]] was occupied by the 77th Infantry and 11th Airborne Divisions. By the beginning of 1946, replacement troops began to arrive in the country in large numbers and were assigned to MacArthur's [[Eighth United States Army|Eighth Army]], headquartered in Tokyo's [[DN Tower 21|Dai-Ichi]] building. In total, including rotations of replacement troops throughout the seven years, nearly 1 million American soldiers would serve in the Occupation, in addition to thousands of civilian contractors and tens of thousands of dependents.{{sfn|Dower|1999|p=206}}

The [[United States Armed Forces|American forces]] were supplemented by around 40,000 troops from the [[British Commonwealth]].{{sfn|Takemae|2002|p=94}} The official [[British Commonwealth Occupation Force]] (BCOF), composed of [[Australian Defence Force|Australian]], [[British Armed Forces|British]], [[British Indian Army|Indian]] and [[New Zealand Defence Force|New Zealand]] personnel, did not begin deployment to Japan until February 21, 1946. While U.S. forces were responsible for the overall occupation, BCOF was responsible for supervising demilitarization and the disposal of Japan's war industries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/bcof.htm|title=British Commonwealth Occupation Force 1945–52|work=awm.gov.au|access-date=2004-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820040331/http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/bcof.htm|archive-date=2008-08-20|url-status=live}}</ref> BCOF was also responsible for occupation of several western prefectures and had its headquarters at [[Kure, Hiroshima|Kure]]. At its peak, the force numbered about 40,000 personnel. During 1947, BCOF began to decrease its activities in Japan, and officially wound up in 1951.

The [[Far Eastern Commission]] and Allied Council for Japan were also established to supervise the occupation of Japan.<ref>National Diet Library: [http://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/etc/glossary.html Glossary and Abbreviations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115012404/http://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/etc/glossary.html |date=2006-11-15 }}.</ref> The establishment of a multilateral Allied council for Japan was proposed by the Soviet government as early as September 1945, and was supported partially by the British, French and Chinese governments.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1945v02/d139 |title=Memorandum by the Soviet Delegation to the Council of Foreign Ministers, Sept. 24, 1945 |access-date=2016-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531094208/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1945v02/d139 |archive-date=2016-05-31 |url-status=live }}</ref>