This report analyzes three aspects of social studies education in Japan: (1) characteristics of secondary education before World War II, (2) the nature and effects of United States intervention in secondary social studies in 1946, and (3) features of contemporary social studies. Before 1945 the boys' middle school, the Chugakko, was the most prestigious; attendance was mandatory for admission to postsecondary education and thus to positions in government, business, and the military. Early in 1945 the major emphasis in secondary education was on training pupils in the moral principles of the empire and on military training. In 1946 a United States Education Mission called for decentralization of educational decision making, adoption of American democratic practices in the schools, abolition of special courses on morals, and the rewriting of Japanese history and geography. The objective was to promote democratic Japanese education within a world society committed to non-aggression and peace. In 1947 a secondary social studies program was developed which followed the recommendations of the U.S. Education Mission, but in the late 1950s the country began a swing back to traditional curricula. However, a Study of Modern Society course was included at the secondary level. The author concludes that because of the language barrier in translating guidelines into results, the United States' influence on Japanese social studies was less than expected. (Author/KC)