Reverse Course

The Reverse Course (逆コース, gyaku kōsu) is the name commonly given to a shift in the policies of the U.S. government and the U.S.-led Allied occupation of Japan as they sought to reform and rebuild Japan after World War II.^[1] The Reverse Course began in 1947, at a time of rising Cold War tensions.^[1] As a result of the Reverse Course, the emphasis of Occupation policy shifted from the demilitarization and democratization of Japan to economic reconstruction and remilitarization of Japan in support of U.S. Cold War objectives in Asia.^[1] This involved relaxing and in some cases even partially undoing earlier reforms the Occupation had enacted in 1945 and 1946.^[1] As a U.S. Department of State official history puts it, "this 'Reverse Course'… focused on strengthening, not punishing, what would become a key Cold War ally."^[2]