Editing Occupation of Japan (section)

== Ending the occupation ==
[[File:Yoshida signs San Francisco Peace Treaty.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Prime Minister [[Shigeru Yoshida]] signs the [[Treaty of San Francisco]], which brought an end to the Allied Occupation of Japan.]]
In 1949, MacArthur made a sweeping change in the SCAP power structure that greatly increased the power of Japan's native rulers, and the Occupation began to draw to a close. The [[Treaty of San Francisco]], which was to end the occupation, was signed on September 8, 1951. It came into effect on April 28, 1952, formally ending all occupation powers of the Allied forces and restoring full sovereignty to Japan, except for the island chains of [[Iwo Jima]] and [[Okinawa Islands|Okinawa]], which the United States continued to hold. The General Headquarters of SCAP was abolished on the same day, though the American military administration remained in Tokyo until July 1, 1957 when the [[Far East Command (United States)|Far East Command]] was officially dissolved. Iwo Jima was returned to Japan in 1968, and [[1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement|most of Okinawa was returned in 1972]].

As a condition of securing the end of the Occupation and the restoration of Japanese sovereignty, Japan was compelled by the United States to agree to the [[Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan|U.S.-Japan Security Treaty]], which has allowed [[United States Forces Japan|US troops to remain based on Japanese soil]] on an indefinite basis.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=11}} Even after the Occupation officially ended in 1952, a
total of 260,000 American soldiers remained based on mainland Japan (exclusive of U.S.-controlled Okinawa, which based tens of thousands more).{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=14}} Even today, some 31,000 US military personnel remain based in Japan, including at major bases near [[Tokyo]], [[Hiroshima]], [[Nagasaki]], [[Aomori, Aomori|Aomori]], [[Sapporo]], and [[Ishikari]].

Popular anger at the continuing presence of these U.S. military bases in Japan even after the official end of the Occupation continued to grow over the course of the 1950s, leading to a nationwide anti-base movement and a number of spectacular protests, including [[Bloody May Day (1952)|Bloody May Day]] in 1952, the [[Sunagawa Struggle]] from 1955 to 1957, and the [[Girard Incident]] protests in 1957.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=14-17}} Partially in response to these protests, the original 1951 Security Treaty was revised into a somewhat less one-sided pact in 1960, resulting in the [[Anpo|current U.S.-Japan Security Treaty]], which has had the effect of establishing a [[U.S.-Japan Alliance|military alliance between the United States and Japan]].{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=17}} However, even the revised treaty was opposed by many in Japan, leading to the massive [[Anpo protests|1960 Anpo protests]], which were the largest protests in Japan's modern history.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=1}}

Since the end of the Occupation, the United States has continuously pressured Japan to revise its American-imposed constitution to remove [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution|Article 9]] and fully remilitarize. As a result, in 1954 the [[National Police Reserve]] was reorganized into the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]], a ''de facto'' military force, with U.S. assistance. However, thus far Japan has resisted U.S. pressures to fully rearm and remilitarize. Under the [[Yoshida Doctrine]], Japan continued to prioritize economic growth over defense spending, relying on American military protection to ensure it could focus mainly on economic recovery. Through "guided capitalism," Japan was able to use its resources to economically recover from the war and revive industry,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Thomas|first1=Vladimir|title=the world transformed 1945 to the present|date=February 5, 2017|publisher=Micheal H.Hunt|pages=88, 89|edition=Second}}</ref> eventually sparking a lengthy period of unprecedented economic growth remembered as the [[Japanese economic miracle]] occurred from the 1960s to the [[Lost Decades]] of the 1990s.