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98-481: The Yoshida Doctrine was a strategy adopted by Japan after its defeat in 1945 under Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida , the prime minister 1948–1954. He concentrated upon reconstructing Japan's domestic economy while relying heavily on the security alliance with the United States . The Yoshida Doctrine emerged in 1951 and it shaped Japanese foreign policy into the 21st century. First, Japan is firmly allied with

196-462: A Europe first stance, giving first priority to defeating Nazi Germany. The Japanese had great difficulty replacing their losses in ships and aircraft, while American factories and shipyards produced ever increasing numbers of both. Fighting included some of the largest naval battles in history and massive Allied air raids over Japan , as well as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . Japan surrendered unconditionally on 15 August 1945 and

294-781: A bombing of the city of Darwin on 19 February, which killed at least 243 people. At the Battle of the Java Sea in late February and early March, the IJN defeated the main ABDA naval force, under Admiral Karel Doorman . The Dutch East Indies campaign ended with the surrender of Allied forces on Java and Sumatra. In March and April, an IJN carrier force launched a raid into the Indian Ocean . British Royal Navy bases in Ceylon were hit and

392-407: A "priority production system" (傾斜生産方式, keisha seisan hoshiki ) designed to increase production of steel and coal as they were essential for reconstruction. This system was based on the theories of Hiromi Arisawa, an economic expert who advised Yoshida. The cabinet had to face significant social unrest due to the impoverished situation and labour disputes at the time. These issues came to a head when

490-423: A conflict with Hatoyama. According to CIA files that were declassified in 2005, there was a 1952 plot to assassinate Yoshida and replace him with Ichirō Hatoyama as prime minister. The plot was led by Takushiro Hattori , who served as an Imperial Japanese Army officer, and had the support of 500,000 Japanese people. Dissatisfaction with his leadership led to the defection of many Diet members from his party to

588-500: A defensive perimeter to absorb and defeat Allied counterattacks; Japanese decisonmakers believed such a military situation would lead to a negotiated peace that would preserve Japanese territorial gains. Japanese planning divided the early war into two operational phases. The First Operational Phase was further divided into three separate parts in which the major objectives of the Philippines, British Malaya, Borneo, Burma, Rabaul and

686-746: A four-month campaign. The Japanese achieved major military victories, but world opinion—in particular in the US—was hostile to Japan's invasion, especially after the Panay incident . In addition, the Japanese had failed to destroy the Chinese army, which continued to resist from the new Nationalist capital in Chongqing , or in the case of the Communists, Yan'an . In 1939, Japanese forces tried to push into

784-559: A halt. The Japanese media, influenced by military propagandists, began to refer to the embargoes as the " ABCD line " ("American-British-Chinese-Dutch"). The Japanese Imperial General Headquarters (GHQ) began planning for a war with the Western powers in April or May 1941. Japan increased its naval budget and placed large formations of the Army, along with their attached air components, under

882-475: A major armed clash in January 1941 , effectively ending their co-operation. Japanese strategic bombing efforts mostly targeted large Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Wuhan , and Chongqing , with around 5,000 raids from February 1938 to August 1943. Japan's strategic bombing campaigns killed between 260,000 and 350,934 non-combatants . As early as 1935, Japanese military strategists had concluded that

980-527: A major world power (at which point Japan would be in a position to rearm). His policy was thus not rooted in pacifism but was in line with the realist foreign policy that's been a dominating force in Japan's approach to international relations since the Meiji Restoration . Yoshida and finance minister Hayato Ikeda took leadership roles as Japan began to rebuild its industrial infrastructure and placed

1078-668: A member of the House of Representatives until 1963 . Yoshida served a president of the America-Japan Society from 1960 and as chancellor of Kogakkan University from 1962. He was also president of the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums . Shigeru Yoshida died on 20 October 1967 at his home in Oiso. He was baptized on his deathbed, having hidden his Catholicism throughout most of his life. His funeral

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1176-699: A military alliance with Germany and Italy, becoming one of the three main Axis Powers . The war entered a new phase with Japanese defeats at the Battle of Suixian–Zaoyang , the 1st Battle of Changsha , the Battle of Kunlun Pass and the Battle of Zaoyi . After these victories, Chinese nationalist forces launched a large-scale counter-offensive in early 1940; however, due to a lack of military-industrial capacity, they were repulsed in late March 1940. In August 1940, Chinese communists launched an offensive in Central China ; in retaliation, Japan instituted

1274-425: A minimum. Thirdly, Japan emphasizes economic diplomacy in its world affairs. The Yoshida doctrine was accepted by the United States; the actual term was coined in 1977. The economic dimension was fostered by Hayato Ikeda who served as his finance minister and later was prime minister. The Yoshida Doctrine shaped Japanese foreign policy into the 21st century. Most historians argue the policy was wise and successful, but

1372-525: A minority criticize it as naïve and inappropriate. Before the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco Ichirō Hatoyama had been released from the purge. Since Yoshida had originally become prime minister as a replacement for Hatoyama, many expected him to step down in Hatoyama's favour, but by this time Yoshida had become a well-established politician in his own right and had no intention to retire. This led to

1470-552: A nebulous role as an ambassador-in-waiting. He undertook some foreign tours on behalf of the ministry and notably developed a warm relationship with the American ambassador Joseph Grew . Yoshida formally retired from the ministry in 1935. In the aftermath of the February 26 incident of 1936, Prince Fumimaro Konoe contacted Yoshida to request that he'd help persuade Koki Hirota accept the premiership. Yoshida assisted Hirota in

1568-688: A premium on unrestrained economic growth. Many of these concepts still impact Japan's political and economic policies. Shigeru Yoshida Born in Tokyo to a former samurai family, Yoshida graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in 1906 and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . He held various assignments abroad, including in China, where he advocated increased Japanese influence. From 1928 to 1930, Yoshida served as vice minister of foreign affairs, then served as ambassador to Italy until 1932. In 1936, he

1666-540: A prime ministers from 1960 to 1964 and 1964 to 1972 respectively. Yoshida died in 1967 and received a state funeral. His grandson, Tarō Asō , served as prime minister from 2008 to 2009. Shigeru Yoshida was born on 22 September 1878, in Kanda-Surugadai , Tokyo , the fifth son of Tsuna Takeuchi, a former samurai of the Tosa domain . Tsuna Takeuchi was a close aide to Taisuke Itagaki in the 1880s and would serve in

1764-430: A year at home in Ōiso. Returning to Tokyo in 1897, he entered the prestigious Peers' School, the headed by Prince Atsumaro Konoe . Yoshida advanced to the university department at Peers’ School, which Prince Konoe had established to train diplomats. The university department became defunct after Prince Konoe died in 1904, so Yoshida transferred to Tokyo Imperial University and graduated with a law degree in 1906. He passed

1862-837: Is also used, referring to the period from the Mukden Incident of 1931 through 1945. The major Allied participants were China , the United States and the British Empire . China had already been engaged in a war against Japan since 1937 . The US and its territories, including the Philippine Commonwealth , entered the war after being attacked by Japan . The British Empire was also a major belligerent consisting of British troops along with colonial troops from India as well as from Burma , Malaya , Fiji , Tonga ; in addition to troops from Australia , New Zealand and Canada . The Dutch government-in-exile (as

1960-886: The Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theater , was the theater of World War II that was fought in eastern Asia, the Pacific Ocean , the Indian Ocean , and Oceania . It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the Pacific Ocean theater , the South West Pacific theater , the Second Sino-Japanese War , and the Soviet–Japanese War in the last few months of the war. The Second Sino-Japanese War between

2058-807: The Declaration by United Nations on 1 January 1942, the Allied governments appointed the British General Archibald Wavell to the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM), a supreme command for Allied forces in Southeast Asia. This gave Wavell nominal control of a huge force, albeit one that was thinly spread across a vast area, from Burma to the Philippines to northern Australia. Other regions, including India, Hawaii, and

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2156-687: The Empire of Japan and the Republic of China had been in progress since 7 July 1937, with hostilities dating back to 1931 with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria . However, it is more widely accepted that the Pacific War itself began on 7 December (8 December Japanese time) 1941, when the Japanese simultaneously attacked American military bases in Hawaii , Wake Island , Guam , and the Philippines ,

2254-753: The Khmer Issarak , and the Hukbalahap . The Soviet Union fought two short, undeclared border conflicts with Japan in 1938 and again in 1939 , then remained neutral through the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact of April 1941, until August 1945 when it (and Mongolia ) joined the rest of the Allies and invaded the territory of Manchukuo , China, Inner Mongolia , the Japanese protectorate of Korea and Japanese-claimed territory such as South Sakhalin . Mexico provided air support in

2352-1016: The Kwantung Army to oversee its occupation of Manchukuo and the China Expeditionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, created the Southern Expeditionary Army Group at the outset of its conquests of South East Asia. This headquarters controlled the bulk of the Japanese Army formations which opposed the Western Allies in the Pacific and South East Asia. In 1931, without declaring war, Japan invaded Manchuria , seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industrial economy. By 1937, Japan controlled Manchuria and

2450-654: The South West Pacific . US sources refer to two theaters within the Pacific War: the Pacific theater and the China Burma India Theater (CBI). However, these were not operational commands. In the Pacific, the Allies divided operational control of their forces between two supreme commands, known as Pacific Ocean Areas and Southwest Pacific Area . The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) did not integrate its units into permanent theater commands. The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), which had already created

2548-675: The Soviet Far East . They were defeated in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol by a mixed Soviet and Mongolian force led by Georgy Zhukov . This caused the Japanese to abandon attempts to expand to the north , while Soviet aid to China ceased as a result of the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact. In September 1940, Japan decided to invade French Indochina , which was controlled at the time by Vichy France . On 27 September Japan signed

2646-773: The Thai government signed an armistice and entered an alliance with Japan. Although Japan declared war on the United States and the British Empire , the declaration was not delivered until after Japanese forces had already struck British and American targets. In the early hours of 7 December (Hawaiian time), carrier-based Japanese aircraft launched a surprise, large-scale air strike on the U.S. Pacific Fleet's anchorage at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, which knocked eight American battleships out of action, destroyed 188 American aircraft, and killed 2,403 Americans. The Japanese believed that

2744-842: The Treaty of San Francisco , which ended the occupation and saw the restoration of sovereignty to Japan, and a security treaty with the U.S. Yoshida pursued a strategy of concentrating on economic reconstruction while relying on an alliance with the United States for defense, a strategy known as the Yoshida Doctrine . The last years of his premiership were marked by conflict with Hatoyama, who had by then been depurged. This culminated in Yoshida being ousted and replaced by Hatoyama in 1954. Yoshida's legacy continued to play an important part in Japanese political life, particularly through his two protégés, Hayato Ikeda and Eisaku Satō , who served

2842-651: The cabinet of Prince Higashikuni after the resignation of Mamoru Shigemitsu in September 1945. At that point, the main fuction of the foreign minister was to liaise with the occupation authority: the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers . As such, Yoshida came into regular contact with General Douglas MacArthur . When Prince Higashikuni resigned Yoshida was approached by the Lord Keeper of

2940-586: The " Three Alls Policy " ("Kill all, Burn all, Loot all") in occupied areas, killing at least 2.7 million civilians. By 1941 the conflict had become a stalemate. Although Japan had occupied much of northern, central, and coastal China, the Nationalist Government had retreated to the interior and set up a provisional capital at Chongqing , while the Chinese communists remained in control of base areas in Shaanxi . Japanese offensive action against

3038-579: The 1970s environmental movement, the bursting of Japan's economic bubble, and the end of the Cold War, Japan has been struggling to redefine its national goals. Yoshida has long been regarded as prioritising the economy over defense, but recent years have seen a reevaluation of this viewpoint. In his 1982 book "Leaders", US President Richard Nixon praised Yoshida as one of the greatest world leaders during his lifetime for his role in Japan's post-WWII economic miracle. In 1909, Yoshida married Makino Yukiko,

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3136-544: The Allied embargo. This was known as the Southern Plan . It was decided—because of the close relationship between the U.K. and the U.S., and the belief that the U.S. would inevitably become involved in the ongoing war in Europe—that Japan would also seize the Philippines, Wake Island and Guam . Japan had initially planned for a limited war, where Japanese forces would seize key objectives and then establish

3234-539: The Allies staging areas from which to mount a counteroffensive. By November 1941 these plans were mostly complete, and were modified only slightly over the next month. Japanese military planners' expectation of success rested on the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union being unable to effectively respond to a Japanese attack because of the threat posed to each by Nazi Germany; in particular, the Soviet Union

3332-474: The Americans, faced with such a sudden and massive blow to their naval power in the Pacific, would agree to a negotiated settlement. However, American losses were less serious than initially thought: the three American aircraft carriers were at sea during the attack, and vital naval infrastructure, Honolulu's submarine base, and signals intelligence units were unscathed. The fact that the bombing happened while

3430-563: The British colonies of Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong , and invaded Thailand . The Pacific War saw the Allies pitted against Japan, the latter aided by Thailand and to a lesser extent by the Axis powers , Germany and Italy . The Japanese achieved great success in the initial phase of the campaign, but were gradually driven back using an island hopping strategy. The Allies adopted

3528-507: The Chinese 38th Division, led by Sun Li-jen . Meanwhile, in the Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road , the Japanese captured Toungoo after hard fighting and sent motorized units to capture Lashio . This cut the Burma Road , which was the western Allies' supply line to Chinese Nationalist troops. Many of Chinese troops were forced either to retreat to India, or withdraw in small parties to Yunnan . Accompanied by large numbers of civilian refugees,

3626-572: The Constitution was Article 9 which stated that "the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation" and that military forces "will never be maintained". Article 9 played a large role in the development of Yoshida's policy. The Yoshida doctrine and Japan's foreign policy of the time, emphasized mutual relations with the United States. Japan relied on the United States’ military for security, because of Article 9 of

3724-711: The Dutch East Indies were, due to their abundant oil reserves, crucially important for further expansion by the Japanese Empire. By 1940 the Japanese also included Indochina, Malaya, and the Philippines within their concept of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Japanese troop build-ups in Hainan, Taiwan, and Haiphong were noted in foreign media, Japanese military officers were increasingly and openly talking about

3822-428: The Dutch East Indies would be occupied. The Second Operational Phase called for further expansion into the South Pacific by seizing eastern New Guinea, New Britain, Fiji, Samoa, and strategic points in around Australia. In the Central Pacific, Midway Island was targeted, as were the Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific. Japanese strategists believed that the seizure of these key areas would provide defensive depth and deny

3920-410: The Foreign Service Entry Exam and entered Japan's diplomatic corps that same year, shortly after Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War . Yoshida's diplomatic career began with a posting in China , first at the Japanese mission in Tianjin in November 1906, then in Fengtian (now Shenyang) in 1907. In 1909, Yoshida married Yukiko Makino, the eldest daughter of Nobuaki Makino . That same year he

4018-500: The IJN and IJA launched simultaneous surprise attacks on the United States and the British Empire on 7 December (8 December in Asia/West Pacific time zones). The locations of this first wave of Japanese attacks included the American territories of Hawaii, the Philippines , Guam , and Wake Island and the British territories of Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong . Concurrently, Japanese forces invaded southern and eastern Thailand and were resisted for several hours, before

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4116-459: The Japanese puppet states of Manchukuo (consisting of most of Manchuria ), and the collaborationist Wang Jingwei regime (which controlled the coastal regions of China), respectively. Japan conscripted many soldiers from its colonies of Korea and Taiwan . Collaborationist security units were also formed in Hong Kong , Singapore , the Philippines , the Dutch East Indies , British Malaya , British Borneo , former French Indochina (after

4214-404: The Japanese Constitution, being denied the right to war-making potential. Repeated attempts by the United States, in following years, to get Japan to increase its military expenditure were rejected by Prime Minister Yoshida on the basis of Japan's pacifist post-war constitution. Military was not the only thing Japan relied on the United States for. During the Cold War, Japan's largest trading partner

4312-563: The Japanese on 15 February 1942. About 130,000 Indian, British, Australian and Dutch personnel became Japanese prisoners of war. Bali and Timor fell in February. The rapid collapse of Allied resistance left the "ABDA area" split in two. Wavell resigned from ABDACOM on 25 February, handing control of the ABDA Area to local commanders and returning to the post of Commander-in-Chief, India . Meanwhile, Japanese aircraft had all but eliminated Allied air power in Southeast Asia and were carrying out air attacks on northern Australia , beginning with

4410-400: The Japanese plenipotentiaries. When the conference concluded in 1920, he was assigned as first secretary to the Japanese embassy in the United Kingdom . In 1922, he returned to China and served as consul in Tianjin until 1925, then as Consul General in Fengtian until 1928. In March 1928, Yoshida was first appointed minister to Sweden , Norway , and Denmark , but before assuming the post he

4508-458: The Ministry became aware Yoshida had opposed the Twenty-One Demands , which he thought undermined the Japanese policy in China by alienating the Western powers and provoking Chinese opposition. Yoshida was instead made chief of the documents section the following year and in 1918 he was appointed consul in Jinan , China. In 1919, he was part of the Japanese delegation to the Paris Peace Conference , as secretary to his father-in-law Makino, one of

4606-425: The Privy Seal Koichi Kido to become prime minister, but he turned him down and suggested Kijuro Shidehara for the post, who was duly appointed. Yoshida remained foreign minister in the Shidehara Cabinet . The first post-war election in April 1946 brought a plurality of the seats in the Diet to the Liberal Party led by Yoshida's old friend Ichirō Hatoyama . Hatoyama was expected to become prime minister, but

4704-422: The Socialist Party, about including the Liberal Party in a grand coalition , but he declined because he considered the left-wing of the Socialist Party too close to the communists. The Socialists instead formed a coalition with only the Democratic Party , which had been formed by merging the Progressive Party with defectors led by Hitoshi Ashida from the Liberal Party, and the National Cooperative Party . Yoshida

4802-422: The US was not officially at war caused a wave of outrage across the country. Japan's fallback strategy, relying on a war of attrition against the United States, was beyond the Imperial Japanese Navy's capabilities. Opposition to war in the United States vanished after the attack. On 8 December, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands declared war on Japan, followed by Australia

4900-425: The United States in the Cold War against Communism. Second, Japan relies on American military strength and limits its own defense forces to a minimum. Third, Japan emphasizes economic diplomacy in its world affairs. The economic dimension was fostered by Hayato Ikeda who served as Yoshida's finance minister and later was prime minister. The Yoshida doctrine was accepted by the United States. Most historians argue

4998-503: The Western powers through armed forces of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere . Japanese officials integrated what they called the Japan–China Incident ( 日支事変 , Nisshi Jihen ) into the Greater East Asia War. During the Occupation of Japan (1945–52), these terms were prohibited in official documents (although their informal usage continued). The war became officially known as the Pacific War ( 太平洋戦争 , Taiheiyō Sensō ) . The Fifteen Years' War ( 十五年戦争 , Jūgonen Sensō )

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5096-403: The aircraft carrier HMS  Hermes was sunk, along with other Allied ships. The attack forced the Royal Navy to withdraw to the western part of the Indian Ocean, paving the way for a Japanese assault on Burma and India. In Burma, the Japanese captured Moulmein on 31 January 1942, and then drove outnumbered British and Indian troops towards the Sittang River . On 23 February, a bridge over

5194-403: The cabinet formation and was himself considered for the post of foreign minister. However, he was included on a list of potential cabinet ministers unacceptable to the army presented by the incoming War Minister Hisaichi Terauchi . This prevented his appointment. Instead he became ambassador to the United Kingdom. After his ambassadorship to the United Kingdom ended in 1938, he retired, again, from

5292-411: The cabinets of Prince Higashikuni and Kijūrō Shidehara . Yoshida became prime minister in 1946, after Ichirō Hatoyama was purged by authorities on the verge of taking office; Yoshida served as foreign minister in his own first three cabinets. He oversaw the adoption of the Constitution of Japan before losing office after the election of 1947. He returned to the premiership in 1948, and negotiated

5390-496: The city, which fell to Japan after three months of fighting. The Japanese continued to push deeper into China, capturing the capital Nanjing in mid-December 1937 and committing atrocities in the Nanjing Massacre , including rape, murder and torture. In March 1938, Nationalist forces won their first victory at Taierzhuang , but the city of Xuzhou was taken by the Japanese in May. In June 1938, Japan deployed about 350,000 troops to invade Wuhan and captured it in October after

5488-407: The command of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Historically, the IJA consumed the majority of the state's military budget (with a 73% - 27% split in 1940), but from 1942 to 1945 the IJA would account for 60% of Japan's military spending, while the IJN would account for 40%. Japan's key initial objective was to seize economic resources in the Dutch East Indies and Malaya, in order to alleviate the effects of

5586-448: The decades of unrest around the time of Meiji Restoration . Since Takeuchi had several sons and his friend Kenzō Yoshida had none, Yoshida was adopted by Kenzō Yoshida and his wife Kotoko in August 1881. Kenzō Yoshida was a former samurai who had traveled to England as a stowaway in his youth. He then established himself in Yokohama as a branch manager for Jardine Matheson , before becoming a successful businessman in his own right. Kotoko

5684-464: The diplomatic service. Although considered a "hawk" on China, Yoshida was firmly against war with the United States and United Kingdom. Despite holding no official positions during World War II , he was active in trying to prevent war with the Allies, and then to try to bring about an early end of the war, allying himself with Prince Fumimaro Konoe . Right before the Pacific War began, Yoshida joined Konoe in unsuccessfully attempting to deescalate

5782-570: The eldest daughter of Makino Nobuaki . They had four children: Sakurako, Kenichi , Kazuko, and Masao. Two of Yoshida's grandchildren are Tarō Asō , who served as the 92nd prime minister of Japan from 2008 to 2009, and Nobuko Asō , who later married Prince Tomohito of Mikasa , a first cousin of Emperor Akihito . Pacific War Allied occupation of Japan Second Sino-Japanese War Taishō period Shōwa period Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups The Pacific War , sometimes called

5880-438: The fall of the Ashida Cabinet, Yoshida returned to the post of prime minister on 15 October 1948. He soon called an election which was held in January 1949; his party won in a landslide. In order to fill the places left by purged politicians, Yoshida had recruited a large number of former bureaucrats to serve as candidates for the party, including Hayato Ikeda , Eisaku Sato and Katsuo Okazaki . Many of these were elected for

5978-477: The first National Diet elected in 1890 . The identity of Yoshida's biological mother is not known. It's likely she was a concubine of Takeuchi and possibly a geisha . Shortly before Yoshida's birth, his biological father was imprisoned for anti-government conspiracy in connection to the Satsuma Rebellion , and his mother gave birth to him at the house of Kenzō Yoshida, a friend of his father. As young samurai, Tsuna and Kenzō had made names for themselves amidst

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6076-572: The first time in the 1949 election. This group would be the core of Yoshida’s own informal faction, known as the ”Yoshida School." In February after the election, Joseph Dodge arrived in Japan as financial adviser to SCAP with a mission to stabilize the Japanese economy, which was suffering from rampant inflation and other problems. The Dodge Line , as the plan advocated by Dodge would be called, prescribed strict austerity measures that significantly curtailed public spending and government subsidies. Yoshida appointed Hayato Ikeda finance minister later

6174-402: The form of the 201st Fighter Squadron and Free France sent naval support in the form of Le Triomphant and later the Richelieu . The Axis -aligned states which assisted Japan included the authoritarian government of Thailand . Also involved were members of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, which included the Manchukuo Imperial Army and Collaborationist Chinese Army of

6272-472: The general council before being formally elected party president four months later. Yoshida's first cabinet was based on a coalition between the Liberal Party and the Japan Progressive Party led by former prime minister Shidehara. The cabinet notably included Shidehara as minister without portfolio and Tanzan Ishibashi as finance minister. Yoshida remained as foreign minister concurrently. The cabinet implemented several reforms based on occupation directives,

6370-427: The labour movement called for a general strike to take place on 1 February 1947. Yoshida believed that the strike would be an economic catastrophe, which could create the conditions for a communist revolution. The situation was resolved when General MacArthur prohibited the strike before it could take place on January 31. Afterwards, MacArthur communicated to Yoshida that a new election should be called. The election

6468-452: The message that the Japanese government would accept a continued U. S. military presence after the occupation in order to ensure Japan’s security and make an early peace treaty possible. President Truman assigned the responsibility of negotiating a peace treaty to John Foster Dulles . Dulles met with Yoshida in Tokyo for the first time in June 1950, only days before the outbreak of the Korean War. They subsequently met several times to negotiate

6566-405: The new Democratic Party , causing his cabinet to resign on December 7, 1954, rather than face a no-confidence vote. He was replaced by Ichirō Hatoyama on December 10, 1954. Yoshida resigned as party president in favour of Taketora Ogata at the same time. He remained in the Diet until his retirement in 1963. After his resignation he spent most of his time at his villa in Oiso, though he remained

6664-499: The next day. Thailand, with its territory already serving as a springboard for Japan's Malayan Campaign , surrendered within hours of the Japanese invasion. The government of Thailand formally allied with Japan on 21 December. To the south, the IJA seized the British colony of Penang on 19 December, encountering little resistance. Hong Kong was attacked on 8 December and fell to Japanese forces on 25 December 1941. American bases on Guam and Wake Island were seized by Japan at around

6762-429: The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950. The war led to an economic boom stimulated by demand for goods and services from Japan by the American forces in Korea. Yoshida described this as a ”gift from the gods.” In April 1950 Yoshida sent Finance Minister Ikeda, together with Ikeda’s secretary Kiichi Miyazawa and Yoshida’s confidant Jiro Shirasu , to Washington. On the pretext of an economic mission, Ikeda conveyed

6860-431: The overthrow of the French regime in 1945 ), as well as Timorese militia . Germany and Italy both had limited involvement in the Pacific War. The German and the Italian navies operated submarines and raiding ships in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, notably the Monsun Gruppe . Between 1942 and 1945, there were four main areas of conflict in the Pacific War: China, the Central Pacific , South-East Asia and

6958-400: The policy was wise and successful, but a minority criticize it as naïve and inappropriate. Furthermore, the term "Yoshida Doctrine" was coined decades after Yoshida had stepped down, and some critics question whether it deserves to be described as a doctrine at all. Even after its surrender in World War II , the Japanese government continued to function. It held its first post-war election in

7056-958: The possessor of the Dutch East Indies ) was also involved. All of these were members of the Pacific War Council . From 1944 the French commando group Corps Léger d'Intervention also took part in resistance operations in Indochina. Some active pro-allied guerrillas in Asia included the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army , the Korean Liberation Army , the Free Thai Movement , the Việt Minh ,

7154-653: The prospect of war, and Admiral Sankichi Takahashi was reported as stating that a showdown with the US was necessary. In an effort to discourage Japanese militarism, Western powers including Australia, the US, Britain, and the Dutch government in exile , which controlled the Dutch East Indies, stopped selling oil , iron ore, and steel to Japan. In Japan, the government and Japanese nationalists viewed these embargoes as acts of aggression; imported oil made up about 80% of domestic consumption, without which Japan's economy would grind to

7252-615: The rest of Australia, remained under local commands. On 15 January, Wavell moved to Bandung in Java to assume control of ABDACOM. In January, Japan invaded British Burma, the Dutch East Indies, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands, and captured Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Rabaul . After being driven out of Malaya, Allied forces in Singapore attempted to resist the Japanese during the Battle of Singapore, but were forced to surrender to

7350-470: The retreating and regrouping Chinese forces was largely stalled by the mountainous terrain in southwestern China, while the Communists organized widespread guerrilla and saboteur activities in northern and eastern China behind the Japanese front line. Japan sponsored several puppet governments , one of which was headed by Wang Jingwei . Conflicts between Chinese Communist and Nationalist forces vying for territorial control behind enemy lines culminated in

7448-646: The river was demolished prematurely, stranding most of an Indian division. On 8 March, the Japanese occupied Rangoon . The Allies attempted to defend Central Burma, with Indian and Burmese divisions holding the Irrawaddy River valley and the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma defending Toungoo . On 16 April, 7,000 British soldiers were encircled by the Japanese 33rd Division during the Battle of Yenangyaung , but subsequently rescued by

7546-489: The same month. Although Yoshida and Ikeda had apprehensions about the Dodge Line, they had no choice but to implement occupation policy. The plan was successful in ending hyperinflation, but it also caused severe short-term hardship. The decreased money supply led to a wave of bankruptcies and increased unemployment. Furthermore, spending cuts necessitated mass layoffs in the public sector. This situation continued until

7644-515: The same time. British, Australian, and Dutch forces, already drained of personnel and matériel by two years of war with Germany, and heavily committed in the Middle East, North Africa, and elsewhere, were unable to provide more than token resistance. Two major British warships, the battlecruiser HMS  Repulse and the battleship HMS  Prince of Wales , were sunk by a Japanese air attack off Malaya on 10 December 1941. Following

7742-416: The scope of which Yoshida personally resisted. Yoshida oversaw the adoption of the post-war Constitution of Japan , which was promulgated on 3 November 1946 and came into effect on 3 May 1947. Yoshida, a warm supporter of the imperial institution, did not believe that the revised constitution fundamentally changed the kokutai . In terms of economic policy, Yoshida and Finance Minister Ishibashi initiated

7840-511: The situation. During the war, Yoshida continued to associate with Konoe in trying to get the government to negotiate a peace with the Allies. In April 1945, he was arrested and briefly imprisoned over his association with Prince Konoe. Following the Japanese surrender in August 1945, the Allied occupation of the country began. Yoshida was brought out of retirement to serve as foreign minister in

7938-715: The spring of 1946. This election was also the first time women were allowed to vote in Japan. Yoshida Shigeru emerged as the winner of the election, becoming prime minister. Around the same time, discontent grew over the previous Meiji Constitution , and a desire for an entirely new constitution grew. A small team from a section of SCAP helped draft a new constitution. After some revisions, the Japanese Diet approved this new Constitution in November 1946, it took effect in May 1947, and it continues on today. One important aspect of

8036-476: The treaty. In September 1951, Yoshida signed the Treaty of San Francisco , a peace treaty with the Allies that would serve as a formal peace agreement and bring about the end of the occupation of Japan when the treaty took effect in April 1952. Yoshida also signed the Security Treaty , which inaugurated the post-war military alliance between Japan and the United States. During a stopover in Hawaii on

8134-533: The way back from San Francisco, he also paid a visit to Pearl Harbor . The Yoshida Doctrine was a strategy adopted by Japan under Yoshida starting in 1951. He concentrated upon reconstructing Japan's domestic economy while relying heavily on the security alliance with the United States . Firstly, Japan is firmly allied with the United States in the Cold War against communism. Secondly, Japan relies on American military strength and limits its own defense forces to

8232-459: Was occupied by the Allies. Japan lost its former possessions in Asia and the Pacific and had its sovereignty limited to the four main home islands and other minor islands as determined by the Allies. In Allied countries during the war, the "Pacific War" was not usually distinguished from World War II , or was known simply as the War against Japan . In the United States, the term Pacific theater

8330-556: Was abruptly purged by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers on the eve of his appointment. Hatoyama approached Yoshida to take his place as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party, despite Yoshida not even being a member of the party. Although reluctant, Yoshida eventually accepted, becoming prime minister of Japan on 22 May 1946. In the same month he joined the Liberal Party and was first made chairman of

8428-606: Was appointed vice minister for foreign affairs in July of the same year, after having recommended himself to the Prime Minister Giichi Tanaka . Tanaka served concurrently as minister for foreign affairs. During this time, Yoshida supported increasing Japanese influence in China, and advocated for the independence of Manchuria and Mongolia to weaken the Republic of China. He acquainted Ichiro Hatoyama , who

8526-631: Was assigned to Italy , and in 1912, he was posted to Andong in Japanese-ruled Korea , where he served concurrently as secretary to the Governor General Masatake Terauchi . When Terauchi was appointed prime minister in 1916, Yoshida turned down an offer to serve as his personal secretary. He was instead assigned to the Japanese embassy in the United States , but this appointment was cancelled when

8624-463: Was chief cabinet secretary under Tanaka. Yoshida remained in his post when Tanaka was replaced as prime minister by Osachi Hamaguchi and as foreign minister by Kijūrō Shidehara in July 1929, until he was appointed ambassador to Italy in December 1930. He returned to Japan in 1932 and, after having turned down the ambassadorship to the United States, for which he considered himself unsuitable, held

8722-526: Was considered for foreign minister in the cabinet of Kōki Hirota , but he was opposed by the Army , who strongly identified him with liberalism and friendship with Great Britain and the United States. Yoshida served as ambassador to Britain from 1936 to 1938. He largely avoided political participation during the Pacific War . During the U.S. occupation after the war's end, Yoshida served as foreign minister in

8820-530: Was held in April 1947 election . Yoshida himself stood for election for the first time, choosing for his constituency Kochi Prefecture , where his family originated. While Yoshida won his election, a plurality of the seats in the House of Representatives went to the Japan Socialist Party . Yoshida was approached by Tetsu Katayama and Suehiro Nishio , respectively chairman and secretary general of

8918-607: Was held in St. Mary's Cathedral, Tokyo and he was buried at Aoyama Cemetery . His state funeral was held in Nippon Budokan on 31 October 1967 in the presence of the Crown Prince and Princess . Under Yoshida's leadership, Japan began to rebuild its lost industrial infrastructure and placed a premium on unrestrained economic growth. Many of these concepts still impact Japan's political and economic policies. However, since

9016-515: Was not at school. Yoshida spent five years at Koyo Juku. In 1894 he went to Tokyo and spent a year studying at Nihon Gakuen, a school run by the famous educator Jugo Sugiura. He then went on to Higher Commercial School , but soon found he was unsuited for business and dropped out. He then briefly studied at Seisoku Academy and the Tokyo Physics School while preparing for higher school examinations, but he fell ill and had to spend

9114-595: Was prepared to move deeper into China. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937 provoked full-scale war between China and Japan. The Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communists suspended their civil war in order to form a nominal alliance against Japan, and the Soviet Union quickly lent support by providing large amounts of materiel to Chinese troops. In August 1937, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed some of his best troops to defend Shanghai against some 300,000 Japanese troops attempting to seize

9212-481: Was seen as unlikely to commence hostilities. The Japanese leadership was aware that a total military victory in the traditional sense against the United States was impossible, and instead envisaged that rapid, aggressive and expansive conquest would force the U.S. to agree to a negotiated peace that would recognize Japanese hegemony in Asia. Following prolonged tensions between Japan and the Western powers , units of

9310-744: Was succeeded by Tetsu Katayama on 24 May 1947. Yoshida and his party thus entered the opposition. Yoshida used this time to strengthen his party and consolidate his leadership. Shortly after the Katayama Cabinet was replaced by the Ashida Cabinet in March 1948, the Liberal Party formed into the Democratic Liberal Party by merging with a breakaway group led by Shidehara from the Democratic Party. After

9408-410: Was the United States. Exports to the United States at the time played a large role in Japan's economic development. Prime Minister Yoshida's aim was to focus all available means on an economic recovery. Given the lack of military power, Japanese foreign policy naturally placed emphasis on economic policy. Yoshida envisioned a speedy economic recovery through which Japan would be able to once again become

9506-521: Was the granddaughter of the Edo period Confucian scholar Issai Satō . Yoshida spent his early childhood in Yokohama. After he graduated from elementary school there in 1889, he was enrolled at Koyo Juku, a prestigious rural boarding school. That same year, Kenzō Yoshida died, and Shigeru inherited a substantial fortune from him. Kotoko subsequently raised Shigeru on the family's estate in Ōiso when he

9604-632: Was widely used. The US Armed Forces considered the China Burma India theater to be distinct from the Asiatic-Pacific theater during the conflict. Japan used the name Greater East Asia War ( 大東亜戦争 , Dai Tō-A Sensō ) , as chosen by a cabinet decision on 10 December 1941, to refer to both the war with the Western Allies and the ongoing war in China. This name was released to the public on 12 December, with an explanation that it involved Asian nations achieving their independence from

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