Japan in the 1950s

After Japan surrendered in 1945, ending World War II, Allied forces led by the United States occupied the nation, bringing drastic changes. Japan was disarmed, its empire dissolved, its form of government changed to a democracy, and its economy and education system reorganized and rebuilt. Years of reconstruction were required to recover from thousands of air raids, including the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. By the 1950s, a former enemy became a Western ally, parts of American culture became part of the Japanese landscape -- and Japan began to find its economic footing as a manufacturer consumer devices and electronics.

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • John Ricky / Anadolu / Getty

    Photos of the Week: Wheelbarrow Race, Count Binface, Orange Skies

    A volcanic eruption in Indonesia, a tilting tower in Taiwan, the Tokyo Rainbow Pride Parade in Japan, protests opposing Israel’s attacks on Gaza in the United States, and much more

  • Lukasz Nowak1 / Getty

    Chile’s Amazing National Parks

    Images of several of Chile’s national parks, encompassing a wide variety of environments

  • Juan Carlos Vindas / Getty

    For Earth Day, a Photo Appreciation of Birds

    A handful of images of the tens of billions of individual animals divided among some 10,000 species, inhabiting nearly every environment on Earth

  • AFP / Getty

    Photos of the Week: Burning Bull, Blue Forest, Olympic Flame

    Eid al-Fitr prayers in India, trophy winners at the Boston Marathon, the burning of a historic building in Denmark, a joyous water festival in Thailand, and much more