Racism, Prejudice, and Democratization: The Westernization of Japan Under U.S. Occupation, 1945-52

Following the unconditional surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945, the Allied forces set out to establish a military occupation in Japan to instill democratic ideals upon the nation and rid Japan of its militarist and fascist sentiments. In facilitating Japan’s transformation into a democratic nation with values of freedom, liberty, and equality, there was also an influx of cultural exchanges between the American occupation forces and Japanese citizens. In fact, the issue of race revealed itself as a major component of American democracy that created a strain on the interactions and relationships between African American GIs, white GIs and the citizens of Japan. In this paper, I will examine the encounters of African-American soldiers with Japanese citizens during the occupation and compare them to the African American-Japanese relationship during the trans-war period. In doing so, I will argue that the impact of the occupation reinforced American racial hierarchical structures in Japan and in turn negatively affected the African American-Japanese relationship.