Was Japan's army disbanded after World War 2?

Answer 1

Yes. No it wasn't completely. The Japanese have a "Japan Ground Self Defense Force" now with 160,000 soldiers which is meant only for the country's defense. I have a complete set in mint condition of the Encyclopedia Britannica which has an extensive section dedicated to the war and an equally large section dedicated to the PLANES that were used in it. I will try to get you additional information, but if you need some specific information that might be hard to find, I would be happy to help. You can contact me directly if needed. As impossible as it seems, after the surrender of Japan the British rearmed the Japanese in Indochina, what later became Vietnam and surrounding nations, in a supposed effort to maintain order between various political parties which were fighting. No doubt this brilliant move drove lots of people in to communist political thought and activity. The first of many stabs in the back by American and Europeans whom the people of those areas had fought for and rescued from the Japanese. Helping to set the stage for the war of independence against the French, and, later, the Americans. Following the formal surrender of Japan in 1945 all elements of the Imperial Japanese armed forces were disbanded. All stocks of armaments, war fighting material, ships and aircraft were destroyed or seized by the allied powers. Demobilization and repatriation of the several million Japanese military persons and civilians deployed outside Japan was largely completed by the end of 1946. In 1950 the Occupation government (the United States for all practical purposes) encouraged the Japanese to establish a militia style organization to back up the police forces during times of possible civil disturbance. Fear of communist inspired civil unrest was a concern at the time. This 75,000 organization was known as the National Police Reserve. At the same time, Article 9 of the United States sponsored Japanese constitution renounced war as an instrument of national policy and forbade the establishment of Japanese armed forces. Unfortunately, this document was somewhat short sighted with regard to the eventual shifts in the international balance of power and the start of the Cold War. It also overlooked the inherent right of any state to defend itself which has been a long established principle of diplomacy and internation law. In 1956, with both the blessing and the assistance of the United States, the Japanese government transformed the National Police Reserve into a de facto military force known as the Japanese Self Defense Force (Nippon Jeitai). The SDF consists of three components, the Ground Self Defense Force, the Maritime Self Defense Force and the Air Self Defense Force and totals perhaps 300,000 personnel The SDF has scrupulously avoided acquiring the trappings of an offensive military force. There is no general staff, no marines, no amphibious capability, and no paratroops. There are no offensive missiles and no aircraft carriers. Japan has no nuclear weapons and has deferred its strategic defense to the United States. It is only recently that the Japanese government has permitted the SDF to perform humanitarian missions outside Japan. Today, the SDF is one of the best equipped and trained military forces in the world.