What happens
This episode of The Pacific Story, a 1946 United Nations series, follows the American occupation of Japan through a series of scenes. A rice mob in Tokyo raids a wealthy man's cellar while police look on, and an American ex-soldier named David talks with a Japanese social worker named Kay about food and the new government. Off-duty GIs debate whether they should stay in Japan or go home. Farmers are pressed by a union organizer, and an economist discusses how Japan could grow more of its own food. The broadcast also touches on the emperor's New Year's renunciation of divinity, the export program, and the factories slowly reopening.
Occupied Japan in 1946, including Tokyo, nearby farmland, and a factory district
Characters: David, Kay, Bill, Suzuki, Mr. Daly, Mr. Ataki, Gus
Listen for: The debate among American soldiers over whether to stay in Japan, and Kay's comments about the emperor and the new government
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.