From Hiroshima to Godzilla: Japanese views on the Americanization of Japan after the Second World War in cinema and literature

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of the American occupation in Japan during the postwar years and the Japanese outlook thereof. Findings seem to suggest an acceptance of the American influence on Japan, as a large quantity of new regulations were imposed with positive feedback. By and large, the Japanese people have had enough of the war and were welcoming to their new leaders, as general living conditions of the Japanese improved over the years. Americanization certainly was present in postwar Japan due to the unprecedented power of the United States in Japan and the major reforms they imposed, together with heavy censorship of cinema and literature. Critique on the United States is directed onto the tragic effects of the atomic bomb and the loss of traditional family values due to Western influences, rather than directly blaming the United States.