Winners in Peace

With singular breadth and balance, Winners in Peace chronicles the American occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952. Richard B. Finn participated in the occupation as a young naval officer and diplomat. Now, using the insights gained from a lifetime of public service, he looks back on this epochal moment in postwar history. Finn focuses on the two main actors--Supreme Allied Commander Douglas MacArthur and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru--and details the era's major events, programs, and personalities. Finn draws on an impressive range of American, Japanese, British, and Australian sources, including interviews with nearly one hundred people who took part in the occupation. Throughout, his presentation is measured and realistic, filled with multi-faceted human beings--MacArthur is not made out to be a larger-than-life hero, nor is Yoshida portrayed as a right-wing extremist. Finn describes constitutional and political reforms, efforts to rebuild the country, and the war crimes trials, as well as the evolution of American policy toward Japan. By highlighting George Kennan's role in making political stability and economic recovery the top goals of the United States, Finn takes into account the powerful pressures of the looming Cold War. He also discusses Japanese and American scholarly theories of the occupation. Winners in Peace concludes its narrative with the peace treaty of 1952, but this book is equally important for our understanding of Japan today--its economic growth, its style of government, and the strong pacifist spirit of its people.