G
L OB A L
H
IS T ORY
II
Why did the U.S. rebuild the Japanese
economy after World War II?
Why are there so many Japanese
Cares in America?
Unit 2 Lesson 2
Timeline:
1941—Japan launches a surprise attack on the American Navy at Pearl Harbor pushing the United States into WORLD WAR II
1945—After 4 years of brutal combat the U.S. military has pushed the Japanese back to their home islands and uses 2 ATOMIC BOMBS, dropping
them on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force Japanese to surrender.
1945-1952 — U.S. Military occupies Japan and institutes political (Japan
becomes a constitutional democracy with a U.S. style Constitution), economic (Japan was pushed toward a more market economy) and social (the
addition of Middle School and High School) reforms . The cost to the U.S.
tax payer is in excess of 1 million dollars per day.
Chart A:
Total passenger cars and commercial vehicles 1961— 2009
Japan
Year
1961
1971
1981
1991
1994
1998
2002
2006
2008
2009
1,039,000.00
USA
World Wide Total US %
6,653,000.00
15,200,000.00
5,811,000.00 10,672,000.00
33,401,000.00
11,180,000.00
7,943,000.00
37,136,000.00
13,245,000.00
8,790,000.00
47,262,000.00
10,554,000.00 12,239,000.00
49,658,000.00
10,050,000.00 12,003,000.00
52,093,000.00
10,258,000.00 12,280,000.00
58,973,000.00
11,484,000.00 11,260,000.00
68,561,000.00
11,564,000.00
7,934,516.00
69,400,000.00
61,714,689.00
8,673,000.00
5,708,852.00
Japan %
7%
43.80%
16%
32.00%
30%
21.40%
24%
18.60%
20%
24.60%
19%
23.00%
16%
20.80%
17%
16.40%
16%
12.50%
12%
9.25%
The Japanese city of Hiroshima
in 1945 after the dropping of
the atomic bomb.
The U.S. occupied Japan for 8
years. The cost of this occupation was in excess of 1 million
dollars per day. How much did
the U.S. spend to rebuild Japan
after World War II?
____ X ______ X ___ =_____
# Days
Per year
# Years
$ Per Day Total Spent
Based upon the chart A, What
did the U.S. get for its
_________ billion dollar investment in the Japanese economy?
Chart A Questions:
In what year did the U.S. produce the largest percentage of cars in the world?
What was the first year Japan produced more vehicles than the United States?
How many years elapsed (passed) between the time the photo in the upper right corner of
the page was taken and Japan’s passing of the United States as the world’s leading automaker?
The Japanese city of Hiroshima
Today. What has changed?