The new era in history of Japan and the whole Asian Pacific region was about to begin
World War II drew to a close 60 years ago on September 2nd, 1945. Japan signed a formal unconditional surrender on that day. Following the military defeat, the Country of the Rising Sun changed its political system and focused on the economic development. Building a modern economy was a spectacular success story. Nowadays Japan tends to play an increasingly active role in the world of international politics. In the meantime, many unresolved issues come to light e.g. the longstanding dispute between Russia and Japan over the ownership of the South Kurile Islands.
It became quite clear that Japan's days were numbered after the Soviet Union joined the U.S. and Britain in the military operations against Japan. Following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th of 1945, Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced his readiness to sign an unconditional surrender. The new era in history of Japan and the whole Asian Pacific region was about to begin.
U.S. troops occupied Japan. The Japanese state machinery has been cleansed and the armed forces were disbanded. A new constitution (penned mostly by U.S. general Douglas MacArthur) came into effect in spring of 1947. The constitution imposed a ban on the armed forces, a small self-defense military contingent was put together instead. The emperor remained a formal head of state though the prime minister had real power. The new authorities broke up the closed-end corporations that were the cornerstone of the Japanese economy before the war. The workers were given rights to organize trade unions and conduct strikes. In other words, a Western-style democracy was set to take root in Japan.
The relations between the USSR and the U.S. deteriorated dramatically shortly after the end of WWII. As a result, the relations between the USSR and Japan were pretty tense. No wonder since the U.S. had a tight grip on Japan's foreign policy and trade. Sigeru Esida became the first Japanese Prime Minister. He strongly objected to any kind of relations with the Soviet Union. The peace treaty was signed in September of 1951 in San Francisco. In accordance with the treaty, the following territories were renounced by Japan: South Sakhalin, Kurile Islands, Taiwan, Korea, Manchuria and several minor islands in the Pacific and East China Sea.
The Korean conflict was still in progress and therefore the Soviet Union refused to send a delegation to sign the peace treaty. As a result, the USSR and Japan remained in a state of war and without diplomatic relations.
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