Editing Occupation of Japan (section)

===Feeding the starving populace===
[[File:sto1001.jpg|thumb|[[Nihonbashi]], [[Tokyo]], in 1946]]
[[File:Gaetano Faillace - Occupied Tokyo - film.webm|thumb|Half-destroyed Tokyo as filmed by [[Gaetano Faillace]]]]
Before reforms could be undertaken, MacArthur's first priority was to set up a food distribution network. Following the collapse of the ruling government and the wholesale destruction of most major cities, virtually the entire Japanese populace was starving. The [[air raids on Japan|air raids on Japan's urban centers]] left millions displaced, and food shortages (created by bad harvests and the demands of the war) worsened when the seizure of foodstuffs from Korea, Taiwan, and China ceased.{{sfn|Dower|1999|p=90}} Repatriation of Japanese people living in other parts of Asia and hundreds of thousands of demobilized prisoners of war only aggravated the hunger problem in Japan, as these people put more strain on already scarce resources. Around 5.1 million Japanese returned to Japan in the fifteen months following October 1, 1945, and another million returned in 1947.{{sfn|Dower|1999|p=54}} As expressed by Kazuo Kawai, "Democracy cannot be taught to a starving people".<ref>{{harvnb|Kawai|1951|p=27}}</ref> Initially, the U.S. government provided emergency food relief through Government Aid and Relief in Occupied Areas ([[GARIOA]]) funds. In fiscal year 1946, this aid amounted to US$92&nbsp;million in loans. From April 1946, under the guise of Licensed Agencies for Relief in Asia, private relief organizations were also permitted to provide relief. Even with these measures, millions of people were still on the brink of starvation for several years after the surrender.<ref>{{harvnb|Gordon|2003|p=228}}</ref>