Post-WWII Japanese politics can be divided into five categories up to the present day.
- First period ... Postwar American rule in 1945 [1945-52]
- Second period ... Economic recovery period after the San Francisco Peace Treaty [1953-60]
- Third period ... Economic growth period after 60 years of security [1961-74]
- Fourth period ... Bubble economy period from the oil crisis after the return of Okinawa [1975-92]
- Fifth period ... The turmoil of the collapse of the 1955 system after the Cold War [1993-]
Postwar American rule
After the war, Japan was defeated and Japan was reborn as a democracy with national sovereignty under the control of the Allied Forces centered on the United States. However, the East-West Cold War composition is the conflict between the capitalist United States and the socialist Soviet Union. Followed the occupied Japan.
The lives of the Japanese people at that time were difficult and it was difficult to secure food, and the labor movement was active. San Francisco Peace Treaty and Japan-US Security Treaty in East Asia turbulent due to the Chinese Revolution and the Korean War Will be tied together and will achieve independence.
Economic recovery period
San Francisco Peace Treaty Although Japan achieved independence as a nation, it left the U.S. military base in Japan under the Japan-US Security Treaty, and Okinawa and Ogasawara are under the control of the U.S. military . It was in.
The Korean War special demand put the road on recovery, and in the latter half of the 1950s, the improvement of people's lives and the consumption boom occurred, and household appliances became available in each household. The Socialist Party was unified in 1955, and the Liberal Democratic Party was formed. [ 1955 system ], The composition of the conservative / innovation confrontation has taken root. The Liberal Democratic Party has set up a retrospective constitutional amendment, but it will reach its peak in the 60-year security struggle confrontation, blocked by the power of postwar democracy.
Economic growth after 60 years of security
1960 The generation was a time of rapid economic growth in the history of Japan.
Under the Ikeda Cabinet's income doubling plan, Japan entered the global market and in 1968, the second largest GNP in the western free world . Achieved. Tokyo Olympics and Osaka Expo Has become a spring and the development of high-speed transportation networks and science and technology has accelerated.
The number of people with their own cars has increased, and the lives of the people have been visibly enriched, but a large amount of labor has flowed from rural areas to urban areas, and agriculture has continued to decline. In addition, pollution was severe in industrial areas, and traffic accidents and occupational diseases increased rapidly.
It was also during this period that the term “examination war” was coined as the level of education increased.
1973 Oil Crisis The high growth stopped at this time, and the LDP at this time was a rural base, so the number of supporters decreased and the opposition diversified. In the world, Vietnam War However, the United States has ceased to be the absolute reign of the world after the war.
It was also at this time that the US-Japan economic friction intensified, the negotiations for the return of Okinawa began to fade, and the Japanese economy was confused by the second oil crisis. Prime Minister at this time, Kakuei Tanaka Will be a criminal defendant in the Lockheed scandal. Japanese politics will be confused.
Okinawa return and bubble economy period
While Western countries could not recover from the oil crisis, Japan recovered quickly and from the latter half of the 1970s to the 1980s [ stable growth ] Will be achieved. The driving force behind this was the weight loss management of domestic companies and the export to the painting market. Developed Country Summit since 1975 [ Summit ]It began.
Around this time, the Liberal Democratic Party also took in the support of the middle class in urban areas, the economy became stable, and the number of conservatives gradually increased. In Japanese politics, a large government led by bureaucrats is regarded as a problem, and in the 1980s, aiming for a [small government], financial reform, reduction of civil servants, national railways, electric power corporation Privatization has progressed.
It was also during this period that the national income per capita surpassed that of the United States.
1985 [ Plaza Accord The depreciation of the dollar and the appreciation of the yen will temporarily hurt the export industry, but eventually the frenzy of land speculation and stock speculation [ bubble economy ] Was created. Internationalization has accelerated, and the number of Japanese living overseas and the influx of foreign workers have increased.
In addition, due to the practice of long working hours at companies, family collapse and death from overwork have become social problems, and new social movements such as civic movements, solicitation movements, and women's movements have become popular.
The collapse and turmoil of the 1955 system
1989 In Japan, when the Heisei era came due to the demise of the Emperor Showa, following the Tiananmen Square Incident in Beijing, China, the socialist countries of Eastern Europe democratized one after another, and the Cold War composition collapsed. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and entered a period of turbulence and reorganization comparable to that of the French Revolution.
Japan came a little later, and the LDP split and left the government 1993 . The 1955 system collapsed. At the same time, the bubble economy collapsed, unemployment and employment difficulties increased due to the severe long-term recession, and [ new hierarchical society / widening disparity ] Will be said.
I would like to write in detail where I grasped the postwar Japanese economy.
This time it's very long, so I'll write the article in several parts.
Shigeru Yoshida, Nobusuke Kishi and the Liberal Democratic Party are born
Japan under postwar occupation is Shigeru Yoshida Cabinet was.
Shigeru Yoshida, who had been a pro-American sect since the war, was subordinate to the United States and was 1951 . San Francisco Peace Treaty And Japan-US Security Treaty Was tied. This is focused on economic recovery by having the United States protect it with light armament It seems that he thought he could do it.
Shigeru Yoshida Nobusuke Kishi There was a rival who said.
Kishi served as the Minister of Commerce and Industry in the Tojo Cabinet and was a A-class war criminal after the war. Was housed in Sugamo Prison. 1948 He was acquitted without charge and returned to his hometown of Yamaguchi Prefecture, but when the San Francisco Peace Treaty came into effect in 1952, he was released from public office and resumed his political activities.
Nobusuke Kishi was Japan Socialist Party when he was released. I tried to join the party, but I strongly abandoned the opposition within the party, and after joining the Liberal Party and being elected in the House of Representatives, Shigeru Yoshida was appointed as the chairman of the Constitutional Research Committee, but I opposed the dependence of the Yoshida Cabinet on the United States and decided to join the Liberal Party. I was dismissed.
Kishi, who was expelled from the Liberal Party, is Ichiro Hatoyama . Together with the Democratic Party of Japan, he became secretary-general. Kishi, who has long advocated a two-party system, is Ichiro Hatoyama and Bukichi Miki . Together with them, he led a conservative joint venture between the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party.
1953 , Shigeru Yoshida told the Diet questioner [ Bakayaro ] Was a problem, and a group of anti-Yoshida factions passed a vote of no confidence in the Cabinet, and Yoshida dissolved the House of Representatives. This is the famous Bakayaro dissolution is.
As a result of the general election, the Liberal Party fell to the minority ruling party and the Fifth Yoshida Cabinet was established through the cooperation of the Kaishintō Party and the outside of the Cabinet, but the approval rating declined due to the conflict with the Hatoyama Group and corruption.
1955 (Showa 30) Was divided into Japan Socialist Party As a countervailing force, Ichiro Hatoyama of the Liberal Democratic Party and Nobusuke Kishi of the Democratic Party of Japan jointly joined Liberal Democratic Party . Is birth However, Shigeru Yoshida was dropped from the position of power struggle.
Since then, the 1955 system by the Liberal Democratic Party Will be made.
At this time, under the administration of Ichiro Hatoyama, Nobusuke Kishi will focus on diplomacy as the first secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party.
As an aside, Ichiro Hatoyama and Shigeru Yoshida are not very close to each other, and Hatoyama signed the Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration against Yoshida, who is centered on the United States, and shifted to diplomacy closer to the Soviet Union.
Nobusuke Kishi becomes Prime Minister [1957-1960]
Ichiro Hatoyama Administration Later, Kishi ran for the LDP presidential election, but was defeated by Tanzan Ishibashi by a short distance, but he entered the cabinet as Foreign Minister. However, when Ishibashi fell ill just two months later, he gave a policy speech on behalf of the Prime Minister.
Ishibashi, who cannot complete his duties as Prime Minister due to illness, appointed Kishi as the next Prime Minister 1957 . Ishibashi Cabinet In the form of taking over [ Izukuri Cabinet ] Slide all ministers First Kishi Cabinet Was launched.
The back bank of the Cabinet was Japan-US Security Treaty I thought that it was an unequal treaty that there was no prior consultation and that the United States had no obligation to defend Japan, so I gave top priority to the revision of the Japan-US Security Treaty, and held a confidential discussion with McArthur about the revision of the treaty and the return of Okinawa.
1958 Prime Minister Nobuo Kishi will dissolve the House of Representatives and launch a general election, and the LDP will win 287 seats and absolutely stable seats, and will launch the Second Kishi Cabinet. After that, Police Officer Duties Execution Law However, due to criticism, the withdrawal will lead to opposition to the security revision.
In addition, the Defense Agency was promoted to the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Home Affairs was established in 1960.
In addition, universal insurance , which was decided by the Ishibashi Cabinet. Minimum wage system / universal pension Social insurance system for improving people's lives such as Introduction And laid the foundation for high economic growth.
After Nobusuke Kishi retired, Hayato Ikeda on the Shigeru Yoshida line Became Prime Minister.
It is said that the Ikeda Cabinet was born between Kishi and Yoshida because there was a secret agreement with Ikeda after the security amendment. It seems that his younger brother, Eisaku Sato, had a plan, but he became Hayato Ikeda at the Hakone meeting between Kishi and Yoshida.
After that, the prime minister who insisted on the constitutional amendment did not appear in the economic affluence, but Kishi says that he continued to think about the constitutional amendment even if he became the prime minister again.
With that in mind, I feel that the current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the grandson of Kishi, is particular about the constitutional amendment.
Eisaku Sato Cabinet Established and Okinawa Return
In November 1964, the Cabinet of Eisaku Sato was established due to Hayato Ikeda's resignation from illness.
In 1967, [ no nuclear weapons, no builds, no bring-in ] Three Non-Nuclear Principles [ Okinawa's war will not end unless Okinawa's return to its homeland is realized ] And expressed a willingness to return Okinawa.
As a result of steady discussions with the United States, in 1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement And realized the return of Okinawa during his 72 years in office. In addition, with the definitive agreement of the Japan-Korea Basic Treaty, together with the Ikeda Cabinet, " LDP heyday It was the Sato Cabinet who was in charge of politics.
After finishing the historic commemorative ceremony for the return to Okinawa, which was the biggest political goal, Eisaku Sato expressed his intention to resign as prime minister and president, and unfortunately under the long-term administration of 2798 days, he passed the term of president of the Liberal Democratic Party. I resigned.
1972 without appointing a successor LDP Presidential Election [ Kakufuku War ] Called Kakuei Tanaka and Takeo Fukuda These four people collided and Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka Is born.
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