TYPHOON IN TOKYO

by Harry Emerson Wildes ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 18, 1954

The second book on the Japanese occupation this issue (note report above on Baron Van Aduard's Japan), by a sociologist whose other works have included Social Current, in Japan, and Aliens in the East, takes a different slant and looks at Americans and Japanese with eyes open to the faults of both. Starting with the Occupation itself, Wildes comments astutely on the ironic success it had and in reference to its tactics brings out the remarkable ways in which it often worked against itself. As the lofty proponent of a democracy but vaguely defined, MacArthur left the door open for many unfollowed directives which if they led to an overt democratization, still laid ground for the retention of tyrannical ways, notably in the Diet and the Cabinet of Yoshida. Going further, the study extends itself to a fairly complete analysis of Japanese politics down to the attitudes of minor officials. There is the communists' striking for power (again attributed to our vague definitions of democracy); and then a survey of the social and economic reforms- and their often different interpretations. Significant in the overall view is the gap between the ""spiritual revolution"" as it was proclaimed by MacArthur and the real accomplishments as they were performed by the cooperative Japanese and those of the Americans who took the trouble to know them. An eye opener.

Pub Date: May 18, 1954

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1954

Categories: NONFICTION