"Joint Staff Study Campus: The United States Navy's Plan for the Surrender and Occupation of Japan, August 1945"

A most likely unknown and unwritten aspect of the surrender of Japan is Joint Staff Study Campus, the United States Navy's plan for the sudden occupation of the nation in case of the collapse of the Japanese Government. Even though the Japanese Government did not collapse in the wake of its surrender to the Allies in mid-August 1945, the Navy nevertheless planned for such a situation just in case. This article is a detailed look at that process. What I think is new here in terms of research is the naval-centric focus on American planning for the Occupation since most studies of the Occupation are not surprisingly focused on the United States Army given that the Army was the service branch that carried out most of the occupation duties. In addition, so many of the existing studies focus of necessity on high-level leadership and decision-making. Here, I am centering on the mid-level naval planners to see what types of plans higher-ranking officers were provided with during this tumultuous time period. In effect, this article provides us with an exploration of another complicating layer of planning when it comes to the Japanese surrender by looking at the internal processes of the U.S. Navy Department, in particular the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV).