| During the "reverse course" phase (1948--1952), the United States began to integrate Japan more fully, as a part of the U.S. national security agenda, which emphasized Japan's power to balance that of China under communist control. The conflict in Korea reinforced the need for Japan's remilitarization and economic reconstruction. Thus, throughout 1950--1960, in the process of including Japan into the U.S. orbit in the Cold War, not only was economic and military reconstruction promoted by the United States, but the U.S. also attempted to influence the Japanese mind to a greater degree. The United States attempted to persuade the Japanese to view U.S. culture more favorably in order to build a sense of Japanese-American common interest and friendship. The U.S. employed various means---psychological warfare strategic boards, cultural exchange programs, and cultural events---to promote America's image and Japanese-American friendship.; The main purpose of the dissertation is to analyze the United States' cultural policy during 1950--1960 toward Japan, examining its ideological and political motivation and evaluating its success and failure with the rise of Japan's political autonomy. While many scholarly works focus on Japan's cultural, social, and economic transformation during the Occupation period, not many studies have examined U.S. cultural policy toward Japan during 1950--1960. The dissertation attempts to do so by introducing new research documents about the strategies of U.S. cultural propaganda campaign toward Japan and State Department-sponsored specific cultural events such as Lincoln's Birthday celebration in Tokyo, the Perry Centennial of 1953, and the U.S.-Japan Centennial of 1960. |
