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This is a vintage original 4x5 in. single-weight photograph depicting some US military personnel in Japan during the occupation of the country right after the end of Word War II. The image depicts a group of Japanese citizens as they pose for the camera with a US officer at the left. The photograph is dated "1946" on the verso. This vintage original historic photograph is in very fine condition without any pinholes, tears, stains, or other flaws.
The Allied occupation of Japan at the end of World War II was led by General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, with support from the British Commonwealth. Unlike in the occupation of Germany, the Soviet Union was allowed little to no influence over Japan. This foreign presence marks the only time in Japan's history that it has been occupied by a foreign power. The country became a parliamentary democracy that recalled "New Deal" priorities of the 1930s by Roosevelt. The occupation, codenamed Operation Blacklist, was ended by the San Francisco Peace Treaty, signed on September 8, 1951, and effective from April 28, 1952, after which Japan's sovereignty – with the exception, until 1972, of the Ryukyu Islands – was fully restored. |