Ebooks for the Classroom+Faculty

The Police In Occupation Japan: Control, Corruption and Resistance to Reform
ISBN: 9780203440148
Platform/Publisher: Taylor & Francis / Routledge
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Unlimited; Download: Unlimited
Subjects: Area Studies; Humanities; Asian Studies; History; Japanese Studies; Asian History;

Many Western commentators have expressed their admiration for the Japanese police system, tracing its origins to the American Occupation of Japan (1945-52).
This study challenges the assumptions that underlie these accounts, focusing on the problems that attended the reform of the Japanese police during the Occupation. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources, Christopher Aldous explores the extent to which America failed in it's goal of 'democratizing' the Japanese police force, arguing that deeply-rooted tradition, the pivotal importance of the black market, and the US's decision to opt for an indirect Occupation produced resistance to reform. His study concludes with a consideration of the postwar legacy of the Occupation's police reform, and touches on a number of recent controversies, most notably the case of Aum Shinrikyo.