Japanese written language reforms during the Allied Occupation (1945-1952): SCAP and romanization

Abstract

This paper discusses the Romaji Movement and its role in the reform of the Japanese written language during the Allied Occupation of Japan (1945-1952). Past analyses concerning the Romaji Movement have suggested that romanization failed due to conspiracies against it and have neglected to consider other alternatives being pursued by the Japanese government. This paper will take a closer look at the Americans who supported romanization, their motivations for doing so, and the development of SCAP policy towards language reform. Since simplification, not romanization, was the preferred objective of both the American and the Japanese governments, this paper goes on to examine alternative methods to simplification which, in the end, proved to be highly successful.