Baseball in Occupied Japan: US Postwar Cultural Policy

How was baseball used to promote U.S. values in occupied Japan? The first post–war Japanese professional baseball game was held on November 23, 1945, just 100 days after the end of World War II. During the occupation of Japan, GHQ sought to suppress and regulate budo (Japanese martial arts) as a relic of Japanese pre-war militarism but encouraged the playing and watching of baseball games as an effective teamwork– and sportsmanship–building tool. Baseball in Occupied Japan examines the revi...