Inside GHQ

Japan's success in charting a new course in the years following World War II stems from the reforming impetus of General Headquarters/Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ/SCAP), headquarters of the American-led allied occupation that indirectly governed Japan for nearly seven years following World War II. Inside GHQ is the story of the reforms of the Occupation period and of the remarkable men and women, Japanese and American, who implemented them. Eiji Takemae introduces a wealth of new material on the wartime origins of Occupation policies, the British Commonwealth Force, the Kurils, Okinawa, the Korean minority, A-bomb survivors, war crimes, the Constitution, education, and health and welfare. This book is the definitive account of the occupation--its strengths, shortcomings, and failures--and provides insight into the state of contemporary Japan.