Democracy was not the inevitable outcome for Japan after World War II. The nation’s new American-authored constitution established the legal framework for a democratic system, but in the rubble of authoritarian government, democratization required more than simply changing laws. A major challenge for the builders of democracy in 1945 was to transform social attitudes and daily practices. By training employees or volunteers and revising work practices to accord with new social conditions, institutions of everyday life (such as the national broadcaster, the police, the railway, and the Parent-Teacher Association) aimed to help build a popular mindset conducive to democracy. Of course the word “democracy” meant different things to different people. Because these institutions were present in people’s daily lives throughout Japan, the specific understandings of democracy they championed had potential to shape the way it would function. This talk will consider the ways in which the promotion of “Democracy” often entailed encouragement, under that suddenly ubiquitous banner, of behaviors that also advanced narrow interests.
