Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II

by John W. Dower

The new national charter—initiated by GHQ in February 1946 and promulgated nine months later, after extensive public and parliamentary discussion—was the crown jewel of the reformist agenda. It not only codified the basic ideals of “democratization,” but wedded them to “demilitarization” by explicitly prohibiting Japan from resorting to war as a means of resolving international disputes. The imperial army and navy had already been demobilized, the military establishment already abolished. Under the “renunciation of war” provisions in the new constitution’s preamble, as well as in its Article 9, the country formally committed itself to a pacifist course. This was a stunning innovation, enacted at General MacArthur’s initiative but at the same time entirely consistent with the objectives set forth in the basic policy directives.