A Guide to Research on the Allied Occupation of Japan By Matthew
R. Augustine III. Archival Materials The Allied occupation of
Japan refers to the military and political control of Japan by
the United States and its allies following World War II, a
period of over six years from Japan's formal acceptance of the
Potsdam Declaration on August 15, 1945 to the implementation of
the San Francisco Peace Treaty on April 28, 1952. For more than
six and a half years, Japan was subject to the authority of
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP), a term that
referred both to the person who embodied that position--General
Douglas MacArthur and his successor, General Matthew Ridgway--
and to the supporting bureaucracy. In late 1945 the Far Eastern
Commission and the Allied Council for Japan were established
ostensibly to give guidance and supervision to SCAP, but these
bodies could not act effectively without the concurrence of the
United States and were therefore limited in their power.
Although the occupation was of