以下內容乃K.W.Ho之補習教材，於課堂教授，內容乃配合K.W.Ho之答題方法及風格所製作，同時內容可能有錯誤之處以供在課堂上糾正。非補習學生在未有得到課堂教學的情況下錯誤使用，恕不負責，同學請敬請留意。
【Free】6000頁筆記及60份5**考卷免費使用：按此
Youtube教學：按此
_________________________________________________________________________
「日本於1945年戰敗是因禍得福。」評論此說能否成立。
架構 雖然日本於第二次大戰世界大戰中戰敗，但卻為政治、經濟、教育及軍事等方面帶來好處，故戰敗對日本而言反是因禍得福。然而，在外交方面則未有因戰敗而得到好處。 // 立場因此，題目所言只能在大程度上成立。
主旨句 政治方面，戰敗反使民主能植根於日本，實因禍得福。 // 戰敗前日本政治於1945年前被軍國主義者操控，缺乏民主，如「大政翼贊會」於1940年成立，取締了各個政黨，日本陷入獨裁統治的時代。而且，戰前日本的政變﹑刺殺頻繁，如五一五事件(1932年)及二二六事件(1936年)均使日本政壇波動，動盪不穩。 // 戰敗後然而，至1945年戰敗，雖然戰敗令日本被盟總政府統治。但戰後，以美國為首的盟總政府為日本實行了非軍事化及民主化的措施，如非軍事化方面，召開了遠東戰爭法庭，審判了6,000名軍人及整肅了20萬右翼分子，有助剷除軍國主義思想。此外，在民主化方面，盟總政府為日本頒布了《昭和憲法》(1947年)，廢除天皇權力﹑提高下議院權力，並開展全民選舉的年代。因此，多虧美國的措施，軍國主義及獨裁統治不再出現於日本，民主也得以真正開始在日本萌芽。 // 小結可見，政治上，日本實因戰敗而得福，成功確立民主。
經濟方面，日本的經濟反因戰敗而獲得重生，實因禍得福。於戰前，財閥壟斷了全國經濟的發展，如三井﹑三菱及住友於1930年時便分別佔了全國採礦業及交通運輸業的63.3%及63.8%，使中、小企業缺乏生存空間。此外，日本經濟經歷了1920年代的多次經濟困境及危機，如1923年關東大地震﹑1927年銀行危機及1929年世界經濟大蕭條，經濟衰退疲弱。再加上日本於大戰期間將大部分的開支投放於軍事方面，因此令日本經濟幾乎陷入崩潰，阻礙發展。然而，雖然1945年的戰敗不但令日本失去所有殖民地，並且需要作出賠款，但卻反使日本經濟獲得重生。因美國積極扶助日本重建經濟，如頒布《禁止壟斷法》(1947年)以防止財閥壟斷經濟發展；頒布《土地改革法》(1946年)以解放農地。此外，美國更協助日本貨品打入國際市場，如1952年的賠償條約(《三藩市條約》)中中允許日本以貨品及勞動力作為賠款，結果成功令日本商品打入東南亞市場。因此，日本經濟於1945年後不但迅速復甦，更步入了1960-70年代的黃金期，於1968年時國民生產總值更成功超越西德，成為全球第二大經濟體。可見，戰敗反使日本經濟因禍得福。
教育方面，戰敗反使日本的教育思想得到解放，實因禍得福。日本的教育於1945年前受到嚴格的思想控制，例如早於1890年的《教育敕語》中已強調忠君愛國的奉獻精神，並提供嚴格的思想及品格準則。及至1930-40年代，教育更操控於軍國主義者手中，有反右思想的教師﹑刊物都受到排斥，教育成為控制學童思想的工具。但1945年日本戰敗，雖然日本被盟總政府所佔領，但卻因而因禍得福，因美國為了徹底剷除軍國主義思想，便從教育著手，刪除教科書內歌頌軍國主義的內容，又於1947年頒布《教育基本法》，不但確立以培養全人發展為教育的目標，更將義務教育由6年提高至9年。因此，日本教育不但因戰敗而走向自由化，更因而進一步提高了教育的水平，有助日後高等教育的發展。可見，日本的教育因戰敗而得到解放，實因禍得福。
軍事方面，日本同樣因禍得福，使日本軍事在恰當的環境下發展。日本於1945年前因戰爭需要而大幅擴軍，大部分國家開支運用在軍事方面，如1944年將99%開支投放於軍事，龐大的軍費開支大大拖垮了日本的各方面發展。然而，由於1945年日本戰敗，盟總政府禁止日本政府擁有軍隊及限制武備，反而令日本因禍得福。因美國恐懼日本軍國主義死灰復燃，故禁止日本擁有軍隊，更於1952年撤出日本前與日本簽訂《日美安全保障條約》(1951年)，由美軍保護日本，日本的軍事開支大幅減少，日本每年只投放少於1%的國民生產總值至軍事方面，有助經濟迅速復甦。雖然此舉令日本軍事早期力弱，但美國軍隊保護日本則可彌補此一缺陷，至後期，充裕的經濟實力令日本得以重新發展軍事，更於1983年開始成為世界上第二軍費開支大國。至20世紀末，日本的海軍已名列世界首幾位，軍力得以煥然一新。可見，雖然戰敗短期不利於日本軍事的發展，但長遠則有助平衡日本的軍事及整體發展。
雖然日本在政治、經濟、教育及軍事方面因禍得福，但外交方面則因種禍得禍。
外交方面，日本未有因戰敗而得福，更因戰爭的影響而與鄰國關係不和。日本於1945年前與鄰國關係惡劣，中國﹑朝鮮﹑印尼等亞洲各國因日本的侵略而深受其害，使日本與亞洲鄰國的關係惡劣。至1945年，雖然日本戰敗，並需要歸還所有曾經侵略的土地，但對日本而言，無論是戰勝或是戰敗，均無助修補與曾被其侵略過的國家的關係。更甚，戰爭的問題更遺留至今，如各國民間對於日本於戰時劣行的申訴，而日本法院多次的駁回就使亞洲多國的人民不滿，妨礙了日本與鄰國建立友好關係。此外，各國因戰後的領土問題未能完全達成共識，因此日本與鄰國的領土主權爭議就大大破壞了亞洲地區的和平，如日本與中國的釣魚台問題及與南韓的獨島問題，使日本與鄰國關係緊張。可見，在外交方面，日本未有戰敗而得福。
總括而言，戰前日本受軍國主義操控，但戰敗反使日本得到解放，在政治、經濟、教育及軍事方面都得到了蛻變，因此在大程度上是因禍得福。
‘The defeat of Japan in 1945 was a loss that turned out to be a gain.’ Comment on the validity of this statement.
Although Japan was being defeated in the WW2, her defeat brought about benefits in political, economic, educational and military aspects. However, there was no benefits gained in diplomatic aspect due to the defeat. Hence, to a large extent the statement is valid.
In political aspect, the defeat in WW2 brought about democracy in Japan, thus having more gains than loss. In 1945, Japan’s politics was controlled by militarists and hence lack in democracy. For instance, the Imperial Rule Assistance Association (IRAA)大政翼贊會 founded in 1940 replaced all the political parties. Japan fell into an era of autocratic rule. Besides, there were frequent assassinations in pre-war Japan such as the May 15th Incident五一五事件 and the February 26th Incident二二六事件. All these coups created instability in Japanese politics. Yet, it is true that Japan was defeated in 1945 and she was occupied by the SCAP government but after the war, the US-led SCAP government carried out demilitarization and democratization in Japan. In terms of demilitarization, the US convened the Military Tribunal戰爭法庭 for the Far East, during which 6000 soldiers were sentenced and over 200 thousand people supporting Japan’s expansionist policy were purged. These prevented militarism from reviving again. In terms of democratization, when the SCAP government launched the Showa Constitution昭和憲法 in 1947, the power of Emperor was eliminated and the power of lower house was enhanced. The era of universal suffrage also began. Therefore, with policies by the US, militarism and autocratic rule no longer existed in Japan. As a result, politically, Japan’s defeat in 1945 was a loss that turned out to be a gain.
In economic aspect, the defeat of Japan in 1945 boosted her economy. Before the war, the economy of Japan was monopolized by the zaibatsu such as Mitsui三井, Mitsubishi三菱, Sumitomo住友, which held 63.3% and 63.8% of the country’s mining and transportation industry. Medium and small-sized enterprises failed to develop. Besides, suffered from a number of economic crises in 1920s, like the Great Kanto Earthquake關東大地震(1923), the Bank Crisis銀行危機(1927) and the Great Depression世界經濟大蕭條(1929), the economy of Japan was collapsed. However, although Japan lost all the colonies after her defeat in WW2, and she had to make reparation, her economy got a chance to revive. With the enthusiasm of the US to help rebuild Japan’s economy, like promulgating the Anti-Monopoly Act禁止壟斷法(1947) to prevent the zaibatsu from monopolizing the economy; the Land Reform Act土地改革法(1946) to release the farmland. Besides, the US even helped Japan to get into the international market. For example, the Treaty of San Francisco三藩市條約(1952) allowed the reparations of Japan to be paid in kind and labor services, which helped Japan to get into the Southeast Asian market. Therefore, not only did Japan’s economy recover in a fast pace after 1945, but it also stepped into the Golden period in 1960-1970. Her GNP even exceeded that of West Germany in 1973, becoming the second largest economy in the world. As a result, Japan’s defeat in 1945 was a loss that turned out to be a gain.
In educational aspect, the defeat of Japan liberated the educational values of Japan. Before 1945, Japan’s education was strictly controlled in terms of thoughts and values. For instance, the Imperial Rescript on Education教育敕語(1890) put great emphasis on loyalty and patriotism, which was of a strict standard. Between 1930 and 1940, it was the militarists who controlled Japan’s education. All anti-rightist teachers and books were banned and education became the tool for controlling and thoughts of children. With the defeat of Japan in 1945, despite the occupation by the SCAP government, it was a loss that turned out to be a gain. The US, in an attempt to completely remove militarism, attached much importance to education by deleting the contents which praised militarism in textbooks. In 1947, the US even introduced the Basic Education Law教育基本法, which guaranteed and cultivated students with all-round development. Meanwhile, compulsory education was increased from 6 years to 9 years. Therefore, Japan’s education became more liberal and the education level became higher as a result of the defeat in 1945. This favored the tertiary education later. As a result, Japan’s defeat in 1945 was a loss that turned out to be a gain as her education became more liberal.
In military aspect, Japan’s defeat was also a loss that turned out to be a gain as her defeat created a suitable environment, which was favorable for military development. Before 1945, owing to the needs of waging a war, Japan’s military expenditure was so high that it reached 99% in 1944. The huge military expenditure led to an abnormal development of economy that brought her to the brink of collapse. However, after her defeat, the SCAP government exercised tough control over Japan’s possession of army as well as weapons. This was rather beneficial to Japan’s military development. For fear that militarism would revive again in Japan, the US prohibited Japan from keeping army and the US even signed the Mutual Security Pact日美安全保障條約 in 1952, which stated that the US would protect Japan. Thus, the military expenses of Japan greatly decreased and only accounted for 1% of the GNP. This was favorable to Japan’s economic recovery. Although this measure weakened Japan’s military power, the protection offered by the US could replace this weakness. In later period, the prosperous economy of Japan allowed her to redevelop her army and her military expenses even reached the second in the world in 1983. At the end of the 20th century, the naval power of Japan became one of the top powers in the world, which indicated the strong military power of Japan. Therefore, despite that the defeat was unfavorable to Japan’s military development in the short term, the overall, as well as the military development were balanced in the long term.
Though Japan was a loss that turned out to be a gain in political, economic, education, military aspects. In diplomatic aspect, it was a loss that turned out to be a loss.
In diplomatic aspect, Japan’s defeat did not bring her a gain as the impact of war caused dissatisfaction between her and other neighboring countries. Before 1945, Japan had poor relations with some Asian countries such as China中國, Korea朝鮮, and Indonesia印尼 as a result of aggression carried out by Japan. Undoubtedly, Japan had to return the territories invaded before, but, from Japan’s perspective, no matter she won or lost, it did not help to mend the relations among them. Worse still, some war-related problems haven’t settled today. For example, complaints made against Japan of their evil behaviors during the WW2. The Japanese court even rejected the accusations made by Asians, causing discontent. This hindered Japan from establishing a friendly relations with other Asian countries. Moreover, the post-war territorial problems haven’t settled, either. For example, Japan constantly quarrel over the territorial problems, especially the dispute with China over Diaoyu Islands釣魚台 and with South Korea over Dokdo獨島, which caused damage to peace in Asia region. Their relations even intensified. Therefore, diplomatically, Japan’s defeat in 1945 did not bring her a gain.
All in all, as post-war Japan was controlled by militarists, her defeat in 1945 liberalized Japan in political, economic, educational and military aspects, which could be seen as transformation. Therefore, to a large extent the statement is valid.
Comments