Rise from the Rubble

By Ahmad Farooq

“Diagnosis not yet complete but the results seem satisfactory”, the cable US President Henry S. Truman received on July 16, 1945, was to change the world.

The human eyes saw in less than a few decades, the country rising from ruins and in such a spectacular manner which astounded all political pundits and economic vizards.

“Fat Man” code-word for ten thousand pounds device, the first atomic weapon, had been produced and tested at Alamogordo desert in New Mexico, United States of America. While some scientists were skeptical about the destructive capacity of the weapon, others believed that it could make “the air itself catch fire”. In the words of William Lawrence of New York Times, the only journalist allowed at the site of the experiment, “one felt as though one were present at the moment of creation when God said “let there be light.”

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The “Fat Man” was then nicknamed as “Little Boy”, a classic example of vitriolic humor. Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. of US air force was assigned the gruesome task to ‘test’ the horrendous invention; who took off from Tinian island airbase in a B-29 bomber titled ‘Enola Gay’ and the humanity stepped, what Winston Churchill later called, “out of the scope of human control”

The planet Earth had never seen a man-made catastrophe of this scale and that too in such a short span of time. Col. Tibbets flew over the city of Hiroshima, on August 6, 1945and hundreds of thousands living being stood incinerated; moms in the kitchens, children in playgrounds or schools and workers in their factories and shops. Father Johan A. Simons, a German priest who was in Hiroshima that day, reflected upon the dreadful experience later in these words.

“Where the city stood, everything as far as the eye could reach, was a waste of ashes and ruin. Only some skeletons of buildings completely burned out in the interior remain. The banks of the river are covered with dead and wounded, and the rising waters have here and there covered some of the corpses. As a result of the explosion of the bomb…almost the entire city was destroyed at a single blow”.

“Where the city stood, everything as far as the eye could reach, was a waste of ashes and ruin. Only some skeletons of buildings completely burned out in the interior remain. The banks of the river are covered with dead and wounded, and the rising waters have here and there covered some of the corpses. As a result of the explosion of the bomb…almost the entire city was destroyed at a single blow”.

The carnage was repeated three days later with the same ferocity in the city of Nagasaki. Together these two cities of Japan lost 230000 lives and many times more were maimed for life or lost their sense of living. Emperor Hirohito, a godlike figure in Japan, cried and surrendered stating, “I cannot bear to see my innocent people suffer any longer”. Armageddon had happened and Japan had turned into an inferno; countrywide cataclysm, from which all believed, the nation will never rise again.

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Yet the human eyes saw in less than a few decades, the country rising from ruins and in such a spectacular manner which astounded all political pundits and economic vizards. Those who believed in the superiority of white race and had refused to allow the addition of “equality of the races” clause in the post-World War-1, Treaty of Versailles in 1919, were now looking at the Japanese miracle to emulate. And the same United States which had banned all Japanese immigrants to its soil under the infamous “US Exclusion Act” in 1924, and had placed all Japanese origin Americans in barbed camps after Pearl Harbor, followed finally by the atomic devastation of the country, now wooed and viewed Japan as its closest ally on the globe.

Long before Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan had started preparing itself against the predatory European powers and their colonial exploits. The abolition of the Shogunate and the Meiji (enlightened rule) Restoration in the 1850s were the steps towards that direction.

What made this miracle happen, if this was a miracle, the amazing journey, rather leap of a nation from ruins to riches? This was no miracle but a simple though unflinching, resolve on the part of a people to hold their heads high. Yes, the country had surrendered but not sold its soul.

Long before Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan had started preparing itself against the predatory European powers and their colonial exploits. The abolition of the Shogunate and the Meiji (enlightened rule) Restoration in the 1850s were the steps towards that direction. The country embarked upon an extensive program of reform and modernization including the creation of armed forces equipped enough to match the Western powers. Education at elementary level was made compulsory and colleges and universities were established with particular emphasis upon science and technology, which in turn was to lead to the development of a modern industrial economy. This modernization programme in fifty years, “transformed Japan from a feudal backwater into a major world power”.  

And by the turn of the century, the mightiest power of the day, the Great Britain, wanted to enter into an alliance with this remotely located Asian Island, which in the words of historian Neil DeMarco, “meant the end of the idea that it was the responsibility of the Europeans to bring civilization to the non-European world”.

The first decade of the twentieth century saw Japan developing an extensive network of railroads spread over the whole country and the nation building its own locomotives. A world-class ship building industry had been established, producing state of the art naval cruisers as well, which for the first time in the modern history broke the myth of genomic superiority of the white race by inflicting a decisive defeat upon Tsarist Russia, a mighty European power, in 1904-05. And soon Japan was to emerge as the third largest naval power on earth, surpassed only by the United States and Great Britain.

Today Japan is the third largest economy in the world with a GDP of US$ 5.134 trillion, its passport is ranked as the strongest and its people enjoy life expectancy of 84.4 years at birth.

Japan too experienced its bad times during the 1930s Great Depression, like the rest of the world. Economic downturn and recession followed by public unrest and disaffection with the government policies and the parliamentary form of government which had been established under 1889 constitution, with a bicameral Imperial Diet. The government had to resort to some oppressive measures including the institution of a “Thought Police”, to suppress antigovernment movements and to ensure obedience to authority, a ‘Shinto’ tradition. Which by implication empowered and emboldened the militant elements who then geared the country to warpath and the misconceived venture of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, resulting finally into the nuclear holocaust in August, 1945.

The victim of the most destructive weapon ever invented and used, the world thought, Japan had died. Yes, the country had lost hundreds and thousands of its citizens, most of the infrastructure built over decades was gone, the industrial and technological network as well as all of its military machine had been completely destroyed; but as stated above, the carnage the nation experienced, could not kill either the spirit or the resolve to rebuild itself and to reemerge shining out of the ashes.

There was an American occupation force under General Douglas MacArthur, ostensibly to rehabilitate the country, but in reality, to ensure that it never rises again. Japan’s top leaders with the exception of the emperor were arrested and tried by a war tribunal and seven of them were taken to gallows while sixteen were sentenced to imprisonment for life for committing “crimes against humanity.” In addition, an extensive purge in the civil and military establishment led to the removal of over 200,000 office holders, which practically rendered the country devoid of any experienced individuals to man important positions and keep the government running. And in spite of that Japan rose from the ruins.

From a collapsed economy with killing inflation and over 10 million jobless people, the country moved forward becoming the second-largest market economy in the world by the end of the 1960s. And then emerging as the world’s major producer and exporter of high-tech industrial goods, from ships to automobiles and refrigerators to semiconductors. And this was in spite of the huge war reparations, the country was required to pay. By 1961, the war-ravaged Japan could embark upon productivity and modernization drive for the hitherto underdeveloped and technologically weak Asian nations by establishing the Asian Productivity Organization, with the mission to share and disseminate the best practices in utilizing productivity tools, techniques, and methodologies. And today twenty-one nations, including Pakistan are benefitting out of the rather regular productivity enhancement skills shared by the member countries, essentially under the leadership of Japan. 

And by the turn of the century, the mightiest power of the day, the Great Britain, wanted to enter into an alliance with this remotely located Asian Island, which in the words of historian Neil DeMarco, “meant the end of the idea that it was the responsibility of the Europeans to bring civilization to the non-European world”.

And then in 1966 Japan led the initiative to establish the Asian Development Bank (ADB), with the primary focus upon poverty alleviation in the Asia-Pacific region. The Bank now boasts of a membership of 68 countries, who have committed $323.17 billion in loans. Japan has provided $23.86 billion in capital subscription to ADB as of 31 December 2020 and has been the top contributor to ADB’s Special Funds, committing around $15 billion since 1966. In fact, by the early 1990s, Japan had become the world’s largest creditor nation and donor of economic aid.

The COVID-19 pandemic did hit the country like the rest of the world but as per OECD’s latest report ‘growth is on course to regain momentum, the economy is set to strengthen, the recovery in industrial production coupled with government support is lifting investment and exports have rebounded strongly’.

The report further highlights the supportive macroeconomic policies of the government which successfully kept unemployment low at 2.8% and prevented widespread firm failure.

Today Japan is the third largest economy in the world with a GDP of US$ 5.134 trillion, its passport is ranked as the strongest and its people enjoy life expectancy of 84.4 years at birth.

So, we come back to our initial query, what made this nation rise from the ruins? Analysts record several factors, such as the adoption and effective use of modern technology, a highly competitive educational environment, a culture of hard work and loyalty and inclusion of women in the workforce, who made over 80% of textile workers, thus making maximum use of the nation’s productive potential.

All the above factors played their part but perhaps more important than all of these was a sense of NATIONHOOD. Yes, it’s their national pride, love for their land, commitment to their country and unwavering determination to stand tall amongst the comity of nations, which made the Japanese people steer through the atomic inundation and its aftermath. And in this daunting journey, they were fortunate to be led by leaders, who believed in themselves and their people. Shigeru Yoshida, whom the late President of USA, Richard Nixon called the Churchill of Japan, and ranked amongst the greatest of the leaders he had met in his long political career, was rather reluctant to accept the offer of premiership of the war ravaged economy, but once when he was in position in 1946, there were no crises, no challenges and no individuals big enough to deter him from his determination to do what he thought was the best for his people. Started as a caretaker Prime Minister, his people didn’t let him leave for over seven years and in these seven years he carved on stone, the course his country was to follow. Yoshida’s opponents, believed that “he will turn Japan into Asia’s orphan”, but as Nixon says, “instead he helped make her a giant.”

The COVID-19 pandemic did hit the country like the rest of the world but as per OECD’s latest report ‘growth is on course to regain momentum, the economy is set to strengthen, the recovery in industrial production coupled with government support is lifting investment and exports have rebounded strongly’.

And again, according to Nixon, amongst the major factors behind Yoshida’s success and ultimately of Japan, were his contact with ground realities, readiness to listen to his critics and a deep sense of the fact that the ‘graveyards of the world are full of indispensable people’. Nixon records that Yoshida will often wander the streets of Tokyo incognito, “listening to what people had to say about him,—–and he will always listen carefully to experts and advisers before making a decision, not letting his pride or stubbornness prevent him from changing his mind in the face of new evidence or effective argument, offering respect to those, who had more experience in a field than he did.”

And one final reason that Yoshida’s policies did bear fruit was, that they were tended by his successors and that happened because unlike most leaders, ‘who get captivated by their own accomplishments and cannot imagine anyone taking their places’, he knew that he is not the “only actor who can play the part”, and thus while in office, carefully prepared and groomed a team of capable and committed lieutenants, who carried on with the nation building work after he left.

Believing in itself, taking control of its destiny, and competent and committed leadership are thus some of the simple road-signs, a nation needs to look for in its journey to progress, prosperity and greatness. Japan pursued the pathway, let’s hope it gets discernable to us too.