American Occupation Authority And The Reform Of Japanese Women After World War ?(1945-1951)

Before World War II,Japanese women overlooked by the whole society.With the end of World War II,the Allies began to occupy Japan,the status of Japanese women made a huge change.As the main leader of Japan's reconstruction,MacArthur was actively concerned about Japanese women's issues,he believed that Japanese women were the main subject of the democratic reform,and the improvement of Japanese women's situation was based on keeping the right of Japanese women.Thus,the occupation authority headed by MacArthur initiated a major reform to improve the status of Japanese women in law,education,employment,marriage and family.In October 1945,as the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan,MacArthur issued five major reforms to the Japanese government.The first one which gave Japanese women an opportunity to participate in politics was to liberate women and grant them suffrage.However,suffrage is only the first step of Japanese women's political road.Promoting the status of Japanese women requires more protection of rights,and the new constitution is the most powerful weapon to guarantee women's rights.Education,employment,marriage and family relations are important components of Japanese women's reforms.Understanding the situation of women in these areas can effectively promote reform.The occupation authority set up the Civil Information and Education Section,the CI&E(Civil Information and Education Section)investigated the situation of women in education,employment,marriage and family.According to the survey,the occupation authority made corresponding reform plans.In October 1945,the occupation authority announced plans for educationalreform that required to improve educational conditions and promote educational equity.The occupation authority also actively developed higher education of Japanese women.With the help of the occupation authority,the colleges and universities of Japanese women have increased,higher education institutions such as women's colleges and normal universities all implemented the same level or higher education.The occupation authority also proposed a monorail education system,the new academic system was the 6-3-3-4 system that meant six years of elementary school,three years of junior high school,three years of high school and four years of university,which made an important significance for the development of Japanese education.On the issues of employment,the occupation authority established the Economic and Scientific Section that was mainly responsible for Japanese economic affairs,including meeting the needs of Japanese workers.The Economic and Scientific Section played an important role in solving the employment issues of Japanese women.In addition,the occupation authority protected working women through labor legislation and the establishment of the Women's and Minors' Bureau.In marriage and family,the occupation authority asked the Japanese government to pass the new constitution and the new civil law.The occupation authority used the new constitution and the new civil law to guarantee Japanese women's rights in family.On the issues of surname,inheritance,marriage,etc.,the new provisions were advantageous to Japanese women.The status of Japanese women in marriage and family has greatly improved.The reform of Japanese women made an increasingly important achievement.However,there are also shortcomings in the reform process.In the process of the reform,the gap between theory and reality is too large,and the reform idea advocated by the occupation authority is incompatible with the reality faced by Japanese women.Some of the policies that were made by the occupation authority have not been effectively implemented.Therefore,we must conduct a comprehensive and objective analysis for the occupation authority's reform measures.