How Did the Korean War Shape Japan’s Postwar Recovery? #OOTD #shorts
The Korean War was catastrophic for the peninsula — but it became a turning point for Japan.
When fighting broke out in 1950, Japan was still under U.S. occupation and struggling to recover from World War II. Its industry was damaged, unemployment was high, and reconstruction was slow. Suddenly, the United States needed a nearby logistics hub to fight a major war in Asia.
Japan filled that role. U.S. military spending poured into Japanese factories through so-called “special procurements”: steel, uniforms, vehicles, spare parts, ship repairs, and transport services. Billions of dollars flowed into the economy, reactivating industrial capacity that had been idle since 1945.
These contracts didn’t just provide short-term cash. They helped rebuild infrastructure, modernize production, and re-integrate Japan into global trade. Many economists see the Korean War as the real starting gun of Japan’s postwar economic miracle.
The war also changed U.S. policy. Japan was no longer treated primarily as a defeated enemy, but as a key ally and industrial base in the Cold War struggle against communism in Asia.
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Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Iryna Dulka
Map animations by: Daniel Weiss
Head of Cartography and 3D Map animations by: Andreas Olsson
Map research by: Tom Aldis
Georeferencing and GIS Development by: Pascal Bracamonte
Editing by: Pawel Wiszomirski
Source literature list: https://bit.ly/Korean_War_Sources
Archive footage: Screenocean/Reuters – https://www.screenocean.com
Soundtracks from Epidemic Sound.
Additional sound effects provided by Zapsplat.com
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
26 Comments
Such a good short we needed it twice!
Was it difficult to re-chamber Japanese bullet and gun machines for American specifications?
Puts another tally mark under "reasons why Koreans hate the japanese"
Then again, Japan had – and still has – one of the strongest Communist Parties in East Asia, independent of both Moscow and Beijing.
Le malheur de l'un fait le bonheur des autres
Not dissimilar for West Germany either. While the Marshall Plan had already decided that the Federal Republic of Germany would be economically rebuilt as a bulwark to Communist states, it was a desperate need for global capacity by the UN forces during the Korean War that allowed German Arms manufacturers to be reconstituted and that mid-1940s idea of a demilitarised Germany was finally put aside only 6 years after WW2 ended 🙀
So a lot of post war economic miracles is based on American money. 💰 💰
Japan was under Australian and US occupation, Australia having control of a third of Japan and its judiciary in charge of the war crime trials.
post world war 2 Japan and West Germany benefit from the Korean and Cold war, leading to the economic "miracles". Defeated totally destroyed former Axis powers become economic powerhouses and the best allies against Communism.
Funfact I've seen mortors and explosives built in Osaka handed to Ukraine as military aid. Japan later banned exporting weapons of war but they produced so much the US had overstock even after Vietnam, The Gulf War and GWOT.
Japan, continuing to exploit Korea even after independence! Surely, this shift away from punishing Japan won't have dire consequences in the future, resulting in many Japanese being ignorant of or denying the horrific atrocities their forebearers committed and causing relations to be strained even today! Yasukuni Shrine housing convicted war criminals, with a museum that denies war crimes right next door? Say it ain't so!
Wars build economy elsewhere.
Ferengi Rules of Acquisition #35: Peace is good for business.
Ferengi Rules of Acquisition #34: War is good for business.
Part of the boom was that the Allies had imposed a new constitution on Japan. The USA never implemented the benefits it gave to Japan & Germany back home thus leaving it at a disadvantage once other economies recovered.
West Germany and Japan owe the Soviets a massive thank you for the Trillion$ poured into their economies by the US.
Didnt Korea get a bit of the same during the Vietnam war? I would love to know how those other nearby similar wars in Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia fit into that development puzzle.
Such a scary thought… never-ending hoards.
Fascinating and Illuminating!!!!!
This is the way to destroy enemies…
… by lifting them up
Taiwan was the other one saved by the Korean War.
Seems like Japan benefits from Korea burning often. Before the Korean war, they benefited from invading it and being the ones who made it burn…
That’s really interesting
Japan found another way to.mess up Korea.
I think it's kind of interesting that South Korea would go on to recover their own economy post-war with financial incentives offered for their participation in the Vietnam war.
War is a racket
Not to mention it became a tourist spot for GIs on leave from the War. That alone probably helped us get over WW2 & building the friend ship we still enjoy today by getting past the propaganda & getting to actually understand each other.