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Construction worker: “well….at least everything is level..”

Japan had two lucky breaks.  They were occupied by the Americans and not Soviets, and the Korean war meant the USA had to quickly convert Japan from a bitter enemy to ally in new fights.

I'll say it again, we need a Megaprojects episode on the making of a Megaprojects episode.  Same format, same style, same music, same everything.

As an American who has done business in japan our greatest uniting force is our common sense of humor. I can go to Osaka and make jokes and get laughs. 20+ years of common meeting with the people gives great respect and honor. The 21st century was built by American and Japanese innovation and cooperation. Simple as that. M

With the non-glorious example of smashing Germany down after World War 1 - resulting in resentment that in large part fuelled the rise of Hitler - MacArthur was very wise not to repeat the heavy-handedness at this juncture.

We joke about how we'll just eat Ramen noodles to make it through when times get tough but that's literally how it went for the entire country of Japan after the war.

My mom, who was born and raised in Kanazawa Japan, told me how she ate grass as a child to survive. Her older brother died in the war. She's 91 now.

Japan truly bounced back and then took vengeance by dominating the tech industry.

I would say this is how you handle a defeated enemy and turn them into a friend, if this had been done with Germany after the great war I think world history would have turned out rather differently.

MacArthur was a rather strange figure and his actions in Korea could be discussed but he did a really good job here.

Executing the Japanese Emperor would have been about as good idea as it was if the Germans or allies would have executed the Pope when they invaded Italy. It would have made Japan hate America forever and likely driven them in the waiting Soviet hands. Not worth it.

" No wonder the curcuit failed. It says it's made in Japan. "
" What do you mean, Doc ?  All the best stuff is made in Japan. "
" Unbelievable "

Born in 1948, I was a little boy hungry for toys by the early 1950. The American toy market was flooded with toys with "made in Japan" stamped on them. I remember most people at the time equated "Made in Japan" with "junk". It didn't take long for the quality and sophistication of those imports to grow past inexpensive toys to a much wider range of quality consumer products. "Made in Japan" quickly went from being a joke to meaning you had purchased a very high quality product. In fact, the majority of those small Japanese toys I had as a small boy were amazingly durable, with many of them still in fine working condition (stored in boxes in my basement). The Japanese did an amazing thing in their rebuilding (albeit with the help of the Americans). Incidentally, I remember seeing on the History Channel that it was a young female American service woman (in her 20's, I think) that drafted Japan's constitution after the war. Some credit her for including women's rights in the constitution early on. (I'm sure someone could easily verify that.)

When my dad got off the boat a week after the surrender he was handed a shotgun and told "If someone looks crosseyed at you shoot them". He said people were so beaten down and sad then  put the shotgun away after about two months.

Both Germany and Japan had a unexpected bonus, they were leveled. A clean slate allows you to rebuild industry more efficient than before.

You forgot to mention the world's first high speed train, Shinkansen, the Bullet Train, in 1964, right before the opening of 1964 Tokyo Olympic.

One key point about Japan's surrender is always overlooked. The Japanese leaders were determined to fight on after the two nuclear bombings, what ultimately convinced Japan to accept defeat was the very real prospect that the Soviet Union was going to finally enter into hostilities with the Allies. Up until this point the Soviet Union was officially not involved with the fight against Japan and the Japanese were thoroughly afraid of the Soviets entering into the fight. This was the final element that convinced the Japanese to accept defeat.

I cant believe you left out William Edwards Deming an American that the Japanese built statues of and who brought lean manufacturing culture to Japan

I was born in Sapporo 9 years after the end of WWII.  The claw marks of the war had all but disappeared by then.

I was in Japan during 1965-66 while in the USArmy.

The Japanese I met treated me very well.  As a nationality they were extremely tactful, courteous, and industrious.  

I was highly impressed.  I would love to visit that country again.

I cannot compliment them enough based on my experience.

It's extraordinary to think that 60 years ago, if I saw "Japan made" on something, then it was likely to be pretty shoddily made.