• Home
  • FAQ
  • About
  • Relevant Sites
SF PEACE TREATY PROJECT
Picture

What was San Francisco Peace Treaty?

On September 8th, 1951 48 nations gathered in a sea of red velvet at the San Francisco Opera House to discuss a treaty of peace with Japan. This San Francisco Peace Treaty (SFPT), which would come into effect on April 28th, 1952, officially ended Japanese imperialism and the Allied occupation of Japan, as well as outlining the expenditure of postwar-related issues and territorial disputes. 

In seven chapters and a preamble, the San Francisco Peace Treaty paved a controversial way for a lasting bilateral military relationship between Japan and the U.S. At the time of its signage and even now, the treaty continues to alienate Japan from its Asian neighbors. Much of what would normally be discussed by an international audience at the SF peace conference had already been carefully orchestrated and manipulated by the United States via John Foster Dulles, a Republican appointed to negotiating an acceptable treaty, and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida.  
The series of events surrounding the SFPT reveal conflicts of international interest that prove even peace is highly political. The American-led occupation of Japan and the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25th, 1950, paired with Cold War geopolitical tension, underscored the necessity of a continued military presence in the Pacific. Japan was a means to this end. The SFPT ensured an enduring American military and economic presence in the Pacific while in turn, Japan was able to escape serious reparations, exploit the militarization of the Pacific, and further neglect repairing relations with the rest of Asia.  ​
George Kennan - an American diplomat & historian sent to Japan in 1948 to emphasize the importance of lifting the American occupation of Japan, as nationalistic resentment towards the occupation was growing. Kennan advocated for the containment of Soviet expansion, and the beginnings of the carefully orchestrated SFPT began to take root: Japan was viewed as a necessary political and military ally against communism in the Pacific, and the SFPT was a way to coordinate this.
The SFPT was negotiated mostly by John Foster Dulles and Shigeru Yoshida (pictured). Yoshida was the Prime Minister of Japan multiple times and an ambassador to many foreign countries. Yoshida's policies prioritized Japan's economic recovery at the expense of a reliance on United States military protection as well as relinquishing independence in foreign affairs. His policies became known as the Yoshida Doctrine and molded Japanese foreign policy during the Cold War era and beyond.
John Foster Dulles began negotiations for a peace treaty with Japan in 1950. Dulles, meeting with heads of state from the UK, Philippines, and other involved nations, negotiated the terms of the SFPT. Though Dulles did not negotiate the treaty completely alone, he was considered the master hand in it all, and the completed treaty was happily accepted by the Japanese before even being seen by the other Allied nations.
Zhou Enlai, Minister of Foreign Affairs to the People's Republic of China, released a statement condemning the proposed SFPT and conference, to which the PRC had not been invited. Zhou stated that in "the war of resisting and defeating Japanese imperialism, the Chinese people, after a bitter struggle of the longest duration, sustained the heaviest losses and made the greatest contribution," yet the US monopolized the negotiations and excluded China for their own political gain.
Andrei Gromyko was the head of the Soviet delegation to the San Francisco Peace Conference. Here he continually demanded the presence and inclusion of Communist China at the conference, but was ruled out of order.
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States. Truman appointed John Foster Dulles to put together the San Francisco Peace Treaty, and Truman announced the Peace Treaty at the War Memorial Opera House during the San Francisco Peace Conference.

Points of Issue

Picture

EXCLUSION OF THE PRC

The strategic exclusion of the recently formed People's Republic of China at the San Francisco Peace Treaty deeply wounded and angered the nation, as John Foster Dulles himself stated that "China suffered the longest and the deepest from Japanese aggression" through wartime atrocities such as the Nanking Massacre and Unit 731. The  Guomingdang (KMT) Nationalist Party in Taiwan, a democratic ally of the US even protested the terms of the SFPT and advised against its generous treatment of Japan.

SNUBBING THE KOREANS

North and South Korea also suffered at the hands of Japanese imperialism during World War II. Due to the ongoing Korean War, North Korea was never included in SFPT deliberations. South Korea was initially invited to the Treaty; however, Dulles tactically uninvited the nation when it was realized South Korea's deep aversion towards Japan could upset the carefully crafted conference, disrupting America's military aspirations in the Pacific. South Korea protested the verdict, but to no avail. Why were two of the nations most deeply afflicted by Japanese violence and imperialism unable to attend reparations discussions?

VAGUE OUTLINE OF REPARATIONS

Indonesia, Burma, and the Philippines, as Japan's Pacific neighbors, had also endured antagonization during the war and the reign of Japanese imperialism. Though these developing countries demanded reparations to be outlined in the SFPT, the US advocated for the opposite. Dulles thought Japan should be excused  from paying reparations, citing Japanese economic rehabilitation as a priority. Despite potentially upsetting their US neighbors Filipino representatives continually pressed for reparations throughout the conference, and as a result, a vague article was included in the treaty. The Philippine government, as well as the Indonesian, chose to move forward with separate reparation agreements with Japan, and Burma refused to even attend the conference, in protest of the lack of reparations.

DISPUTES OVER PACIFIC ISLANDS

Vague Japanese, South Korean, PRC, and Soviet Union claims on islands in the Pacific, such as Takeshima, were not delineated nor properly addressed in the SFPT. This was deliberately done so by the US to dissipate the influence of communism, and in the decades to come these disputes contributed to continual conflicts between the nations. The Indian government refused to participate in the SFPT. The country, very much aware of the makings of colonialism, viewed the US manipulation of Japan as an impediment on Japanese sovereignty and a serpentine power play by the US military, especially in regards to the US takeover of Okinawa. The citizens of Okinawa were essentially ignored, and the island used as a political token by the Japanese. 

The Making of the San Francisco System

Picture
The San Francisco System is the culmination of the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance, both signed on September 8th, 1951. Under the apparent guise of negotiating terms of peace between post-WWII Japan and the Allied nations,  the San Francisco System, as well as other policies made in the Asian-Pacific during this time continue to affect the geopolitical, economic, and militaristic landscapes of today. The San Francisco System is referred to as a “hub and spokes” mechanism. The U.S. represents the “hub” as the common denominator between the policies while the “spokes” are the nations Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, and Japan that were tied to the U.S. while still remaining separate from one another, adding to the disparity felt between Asian-Pacific nations in the wake of WWII. 
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • FAQ
  • About
  • Relevant Sites