Occupation of Japan
Occupation of Japan
On August 30, 1945, the Third Army landed under support from U.S. Navy gunfire and U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft. At the Yokosuka Naval Base Headquarters, Rear Admiral Robert B. Carney, USN, and Rear Admiral Oscar C. Badger, USN, accepted the enemy's surrender and established Commander Third Fleet. The following day, Company "L", Third Battalion, Fourth Marines, landed at Tateyama Naval Base, Honshu. Following the Formal Japanese Surrender on September 2, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur, USA, took charge of the Supreme Command of Allied Powers (SCAP) and began the work of rebuilding Japan. The first phase lasted from the end of the war until 1947 and dealt with war trials and disarmament of the military. The second phase consisted of the creation of a new government, which also involved the economic rehabilitation. The third stage, which began in 1950, SCAP declared the political and economic future was established and set a formal peace treaty, which was signed by forty-nine nations in September 1951. The images in this collection mainly deal with the first phase of Allied occupation.
Image: 80-G-490431: Yokosuka Naval Base, near Tokyo, Japan. The Stars and Stripes rise to the top of the mast as American Forces take over, August 30, 1945. Official U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
