[2] The medal was created in the aftermath of the Second World War to recognize those who had performed occupation service in either Germany, Italy, Austria, Japan or Korea.

The first medal was presented to General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had been the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Commander during World War II.

In addition, some recipients of the award were born two generations after the end of the conflict which the medal was designed to represent.

On the reverse, is Mount Fuji with a low-hanging cloud over two Japanese junks above a wave and the inscribed date "1945".

[2] A myth was that if a soldier served in Germany the ribbon's black band was worn to his right and if in Japan the red was to his right.