Season 16, Episode 3: A New Deal for Japan (Economics 1945-1954)
A photograph of the postwar seizure of a zaibatsu family’s assets. Although MacArthur initially supported the dismantling of over 300 such conglomerates, only twelve were actually dissolved during the Allied occupation. Source: Public Domain
A photograph of Finance Minister Ikeda Hayato shaking hands with Joseph Dodge, who advised severe austerity throughout Japan to tame the menace of hyperinflation. Source: Public Domain
A photograph of the “Bloody May Day” incident, which resulted in bloody clashes between the police and demonstrators who supported the labor movement and opposed the US-Japan security treaty. Source: Public Domain
A photograph of the “Bloody May Day” incident featuring demonstrators armed with sharpened stakes trying to fend off police advances. Source: Public Domain
A photograph of an overturned US-made car after the “Bloody May Day” incident. Demonstrators defaced, vandalized, and burned US cars in their path as they retreated from police. Source: Public Domain
A photograph of Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru, who would be driven out of office by labor supporters during his first term only to return years later and attempt to chart a future course for Japan. Source: Public Domain
