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Following the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the two atomic bombs dropped by the U.S., Emperor Hirohito announces Japan's unconditional surrender in his first radio message to the people.
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President Harry Truman appoints General Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander for the Allied Forces (SCAP) to supervise the U.S. occupation of Japan.
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Japan signs the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, formally surrendering and giving the U.S. control of Japan.
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President Truman approves a document that set the goals of the occupation: to eliminate Japan's war potential and turn it into a western-style pro-Democracy state.
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MacArthur talks with Hirohito to receive his support for U.S. programs in Japan, taking this famous picture with the emperor.
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Japan enacts a new constitution, drafted by the U.S. Article 9 of the constitution renounces war and demilitarizes Japan. Also gave sovereignity to the people, not the emperor, to try to democratize Japan.
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Japan signs the San Francisco Peace Treaty, ending the Occupation and regaining its sovereignity.
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Japan establishes an army, air force and naval force for the purpose of self-defense, without violating Article 9.
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The two conservative parties merge to form the Liberal Democratic Party, which would be the dominant electoral force in the Diet for almost 4 decades.
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Japan is back to pre-war levels of economic power. A government report announces that the postwar period is over.
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The OPEC oil embargo, known in Japan as the "oil shock", suddenly ended economic growth. However, soon afterwards Japan rebounded through exports, especially of automobiles to the U.S.
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Japan has undergone extensive urbanization, over 75% of people live in cities. Income is distributed remarkably evenly. Life expectancy increased, large families gave way to nuclear families.
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Hirohito's death sets off national remembrance and reflection in the media. He does not live to see his country's economy and society begin to unravel starting in the 90s.
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"Great Depression" or "Lost Decade" was an economic slump in the 1990s. Japan has 11 different prime ministers, no firm hand for the state when it needs it the most. Political terrain is volatile. Societal decay resulted, cynicism and pessimism increased.
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Japan gains international clout, participates in Gulf War with "checkbook diplomacy".
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LDP implodes as a result of scandal, internal fragmentation, and vacillation on recovery policy.
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The doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyou releases deadly sarin gas on the Tokyo subway. An earthquake kills 6,400 in and around Kobe, showing government's reduced ability to respond to disasters.
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Japan's economy begins to improve as China grows as an industrial superpower. Social problems remain, but Japanese optimism increases. Popular cultural exports are a source of national pride. Today, there is good reason to look towards the future with guarded optimism. Increasing friction with Japan's neighbors is a very real problem, but Japan looks toward the future with fortitude.
