In the democratic era of the 1910s to the 1920s, the government tried to suppress newspapers such as the "Asahi shinbun" for their critical stance against government bureaucracy that favored protecting citizens' rights and constitutional democracy. In the period of growing militarism in the 1930s to 1945, newspapers faced intense government censorship and control. After Japan's defeat, strict censorship of the press continued as the American occupiers used government control in order to inculcate democratic and anti-communist values. In 1951, the American occupiers finally returned freedom of the press to Japan, which is the situation today.