Papers presented by Timothy Yang since 2019

2024 Providence, Rhode Island

"Hunger, Relief, and the Making of the U.S. Regime of Wheat in Post-World War II Japan"

Abstract:

In the aftermath of World War II, Allied-occupied Japan faced a critical shortage of food. The collapse of the Japanese war machine wreaked havoc on an already reeling food distribution system, which had reduced rations to roughly 1,000 calories per person, per day, by war’s end. As stockpiles of staple foods and necessities found their way to thriving black markets, many urbanites scrambled to the countryside to barter clothing, jewelry, and other prized possessions for any form of sustenance. The loss of Japan’s overseas empire only worsened the problem; it severed Japan’s home islands from colonies like Taiwan and Korea that had served as agricultural appendages and would lead to the repatriation of over six million soldiers and settler-colonists, which, to occupation officials and their Japanese counterparts, was six million more mouths to feed. This paper explores the pivotal role of U.S. agricultural surpluses – particularly wheat – in supporting the Allied occupation of Japan. It focuses on the activities of two non-governmental agencies: the Licensed Agencies for Relief in Asia (LARA), a Christian service organization, and the Oregon Wheat Growers League (OWGL), a trade organization of farmers founded for the promotion of Oregon wheat. This paper shows how LARA’s food relief programs dovetailed with OWGL’s attempts to create a market for wheat in a nation full of rice eaters. Their efforts lay the groundwork for the export of wheat surpluses during the Cold War under Public Law 480 (also known as the “Food for Peace” program) to Japan and elsewhere.