ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION

Economic Reconstruction

Economic Reconstruction

Hiroshima is quite often mentioned as an example of post-war reconstruction. But it remains to be explored how the history of Hiroshima is actually relevant to peacebuilding cases after contemporary armed conflicts. It is not rare that the differences between the history of Hiroshima or Japan and contemporary peacebuilding cases are emphasized. While fully recognizing the major differences between them, this essay takes a distinctive approach toward the history of Hiroshima. Namely, this essay seeks to identify whether Hiroshima's case could have any suggestions on contemporary peacebuilding cases. This does not mean that this essay only looks for similarities while ignoring differences. Rather, this essay tries to explore the suggestions to contemporary peacebuilding cases that the history of Hiroshima can provide as the special local city that has achieved remarkable post-war reconstruction and revitalized itself as a “peace memorial city.” In other words, this essay aims to identify the importance of Hiroshima as a case of peacebuilding (Yoko, 2003, pp 1-36).

The Development of Hiroshima as a Military City

Failure of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration DDR

This essay looks at the history of Hiroshima since the time of the Meiji era. There are two main reasons for this time frame. First, the factors of poor ex-samurai (traditional worriers or soldiers) and farmers in the rural areas affected the following history of Hiroshima. The facts that these factors existed in the Meiji era and that measures against the factors in the period influenced the following course of Hiroshima deserves attention. Second, internal wars continued until the end of the first decade of the Meiji era. The process of modernization proceeded as a peacebuilding process to overcome such a social structure prone to internal struggles. The Reconstruction after World War II was an adjustment to the particular type of modernization of “peacebuilding to overcome the social structure prone to internal struggles” that started in the Meiji era. It is thus necessary to look at this early modern period of “peacebuilding to overcome the social structure prone to internal struggles” even when we understand the history of Japan after World War II. This applies to Hiroshima, local city that symbolizes the history of Japan (Yamamoto, 2005, pp. 212).

Sadaaki Senda from Satsuma han became the first governor of Hiroshima Prefecture in the Meiji era. One of the pressing needs for Senda, who followed the policies of the central government, was to alleviate grievances of ex-warriors who were deprived of privileges and of farmland villagers who were suffering from abject poverty. In the first decade of the Meiji era from the time of the Meiji Restoration to that of the Seinan War, there arose multiple revolts by ex-worriers throughout Kyushyu region and Hiroshima's neighboring prefecture, Yamaguchi. There were a considerable number of farmers' riots. Thus, the central government adopted the policies to divide ex-worriers and farmers and console as many of them as possible. Geographically speaking, Hiroshima Prefecture, neighboring on unstable regions, was located at a frontline of the central government's efforts to expand ...