Take the Engines, Leave the Engineers: Japanese Military Innovation and Innovators under American Occupation, 1945-1953

This study examines Japan's military innovation and technological developments during World War II and their transition under American occupation from 1945 to 1953. American-led Technical Missions uncovered Japanese advancements in areas such as rocketry, aerodynamics, and synthetic materials, despite wartime challenges like resource shortages and Allied bombing. Japanese engineers, often marginalized by their military superiors, displayed remarkable ingenuity in overcoming resource constraints. Under occupation, they collaborated with American forces, salvaging and refining wartime innovations while adapting to new circumstances. The paper highlights the interplay of Japanese innovation, Allied appropriation, and postwar industrial transformation, underscoring the continuity of Japan's scientific and engineering prowess into its postwar economic resurgence.