On 4 April 1946, the Far Eastern Commission formally approves the exemption of Emperor Hirohito from prosecution for war crimes.
Since Japan’s surrender, questions surrounding the
On 3 April 1946, Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma is executed by firing squad at Los Baños prison in the Philippines, found guilty of war crimes for his role in the Bataan Death March.
Homma’s
On 2 April 1946, General Douglas MacArthur enacts new fraternization rules for U.S. troops in Japan.
From the start of the Allied occupation in August last year, U.S. military personnel were
On 1 April 1946, the U.S. Navy carries out Operation Road’s End, scuttling 24 captured Imperial Japanese Navy submarines off the Gotō Islands.
Following Japan’s surrender on 15 August last
On 31 March 1946, Greece holds its first parliamentary elections since before the war, under the supervision of Allied observers.
The Greek political landscape is in chaos. Since the end of
On 30 March 1946, British and American military intelligence launch a large-scale sweep across Germany and Austria, arresting over a thousand individuals suspected of attempting to revive Nazism
On 29 March 1946, Sir Stafford Cripps issues a stark warning in London about the growing communal rift in India, cautioning that delay in granting independence will result in “distrust and disaster”
On 28 March 1946, the results of the Indian provincial elections are formally announced, confirming a sweeping victory for the Indian National Congress and the All-India Muslim League.
Held
On 27 March 1946, the United States and the Provisional Government of the French Republic sign an agreement in Paris to establish regular air services between the two countries.
The war has
On 26 March 1946, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek speaks out against Communism and explains the path forward for a `united China` during a party gathering in Nanking.
Chiang`s speech reads, in
On 25 March 1946, the Soviet Union announces that it will withdraw its troops from Iran within six weeks, defusing a crisis that has brought the U.S. and USSR into one of their first post-war
On 24 March 1946, the British Cabinet Mission arrives in India to negotiate the terms of independence.
India is at a breaking point. Since the end of World War II, demands for independence have
On 23 March 1946, Indonesian nationalist forces evacuate and set fire to the city of Bandung to deny it to the returning Dutch colonial forces.
Since the proclamation of Indonesian independence
On 22 March 1946, the United Kingdom and the Emirate of Transjordan sign the Treaty of London, paving the way for Transjordan’s full independence from British rule.
The relationship between
On 21 March 1946, French forces launch a brutal assault on the town of Thakhek in central Laos, crushing local resistance and executing civilians in a campaign to reassert colonial control over
On 20 March 1946, the Tule Lake War Relocation Center, the largest of the ten camps Japanese-American internment camps, closes down.
Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin D.
On 19 March 1946, former British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Anthony Eden, makes a statement about foreign issues aimed at the Soviet Union`s policies in Eastern Europe.
Eden`s
![On 18 March 1946, Japan hires its first female police officers.
Women in Japan have traditionally been confined to domestic roles, with deeply ingrained societal expectations limiting their presence in public and professional spheres. Under the pre-war Meiji and Showa governments, Japan’s legal and political systems upheld strict gender norms, excluding women from positions of power and denying them many rights.
During World War II, women entered the workforce in large numbers, taking on industrial and administrative jobs, and some even participated in paramilitary auxiliary roles. Despite these contributions, Japan’s surrender in August last year left women in a precarious position. The country is devastated, and returning male soldiers have reclaimed jobs that women had temporarily held.
However, as the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) seeks to democratize Japan and dismantle militarist structures, advocating for women’s rights has been a core part of these reforms. In December, the newly drafted constitution granted women the right to vote for the first time while further steps have been taken to integrate them into public life. One of the most significant changes was the reform of the Japanese police system.
Japan’s police force had played a key role in enforcing wartime authoritarianism, maintaining strict surveillance over civilians, and suppressing political dissent. The occupation authorities saw the need to decentralize and reform law enforcement, aiming to create a system that would better reflect democratic ideals. As part of these changes, SCAP pushed for the recruitment of female officers to handle cases involving women and children.
Today, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department hires its first 65 female officers. These women, referred to as “policewomen” (婦人警官, fujin keikan), will be primarily tasked with handling cases of juvenile delinquency, sexual violence, and family disputes—areas where male officers are deemed less effective due to cultural sensitivities.
Picture: One of the female police force patrols the streets of Tokyo along the market place in the Konda [sic] district.
Source: Tokyo Metropolitan Police Museum](https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/t39.30808-6/484856756_1408701400497930_7834368286564893021_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&_nc_ohc=x4asgdPh4nwQ7kNvwGGFQSW&_nc_oc=AdlTN_HO-FxlQCijblrRSdLTZVQ6ZGtVgsKdch-QfEnixBPgz1ImEHtyt2XCMZJcb1JtvVvDznrty13cols-xWsM&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent.cdninstagram.com&edm=AM6HXa8EAAAA&_nc_gid=8Ev9uOF99iP_8QHO7hHOwA&oh=00_AYGY4HlNG0V4HYLvQXJ5PdeVttEsGcTUz4I6KiCW_5brcw&oe=67F6E403)
On 18 March 1946, Japan hires its first female police officers.
Women in Japan have traditionally been confined to domestic roles, with deeply ingrained societal expectations limiting their
On 17 March 1946, Soviet forces begin withdrawing from the Danish island of Bornholm, ending an occupation that had lasted nearly a year after Germany’s surrender.
The occupation of the small
On 16 March 1946, the Acheson-Lilienthal Report on the international control of atomic energy is presented to the U.S. State Department.
The question of nuclear control has been at the center
On 15 March 1946, Prime Minister Clement Attlee announces during an address to the House of Commons that the British government intends to grant India independence.
The situation in India has
On 14 March 1946, U.S. military authorities execute Alfons Klein, the former administrator of the Hadamar euthanasia center.
Aktion T4 targeted those with physical and intellectual
On 13 March 1946, British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin submits a memorandum to the Cabinet, arguing that Britain must maintain its strategic hold over the Mediterranean to resist both Soviet
On 12 March 1946, Yugoslav authorities capture Dragoljub “Draža” Mihailović, the leader of the Chetnik movement.
While initially a Serbian nationalist resistance force initially committed to
On 11 March 1946, British military authorities track down and arrest Rudolf Höss, the former commandant of Auschwitz.
A longtime Nazi, Höss had been a member of the SS since 1934, rising
On 10 March 1946, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is forcibly severed from the Vatican and absorbed into the Russian Orthodox Church through the Soviet-orchestrated Lviv "Pseudo-Council."
On 9 March 1946, reactions to Winston Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech continue to emerge across the world, sparking debate, criticism, and support.
Four days after Churchill delivered his
On 8 March 1946, the Bell 47 becomes the first helicopter certified for civilian use.
The road to practical helicopter flight has been long and complex. The concept of vertical lift dates back
On 7 March 1946, the U.S. Navy evacuates the residents of Bikini Atoll, relocating them to make way for nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific.
The decision to remove the Bikinians is the
On 6 March 1946, Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh and French representative Jean Sainteny sign an agreement recognizing Vietnam as a "free state" within the French Union, temporarily easing tensions in
