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Japanese and Allied officials sign the Japanese Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay
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MacArthur was appointed Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Japan, and held political control over Japan for the duration of the American occupation
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The American occupation of Japan lasted from September 8, 1945 to April 28, 1952. The occupation transformed Japan from a military dictatorship to a constitutional democracy.
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Shinto was abolished as the state religion of Japan
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Emperor Hirohito was forced to acknowledge that he was not of divine origin, which contradicted millennia of Japanese mythology.
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The International Military Tribunal for the Far East was a trial wherein Japanese war criminals were prosecuted by Americans.
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Japan, which had been a military dictatorship led by Hideki Tojo during World War II, held free elections under American supervision during the occupation. Women were allowed to vote for the first time.
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The Labor Standards Act improved working conditions in Japan
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The Constitution of Japan organized a democratic, pacifist government for Japan which has remained unamended to this day
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Joseph Dodge vigorously reorganized the Japanese economy, privatized many businesses, and set the exchange rate to 360 yen per 1 dollar
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Around 25,000 Japanese government employees were fired by SCAP on suspicion of communist sympathies, simultaneous with the Red Scare in the United States
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The occupation of Japan ended, and Japan became independent.
