The Self-Defense Forces and Postwar Politics in Japan

In 1947, Japan eternally renounced war and the possession of armed forces with its constitution. How, then, did the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) survive, moreover, evolve over the ensuing 70 years into the prominent presence it is today? Sado Akihiro reviews the JSDF's history chiefly from the viewpoint of restrictions imposed on it by civil officials of the national bureaucracy, based on lessons gleaned from the arbitrary conduct of the military in pre-World War II days. He also explores the financial constraints placed on the JSDF in the form of a percentage of the GNP. This book traces the inside story of U.S.-Japan relations and Japan's defense policy. It attempts to shine a light on the true state of the JSDF in the midst of new challenges that put it at a crossroads, including post-9/11 international terrorism, North Korean nuclear development, and China's increased military presence in Asia.

SADO Akihiro
Born in Fukuoka prefecture in 1958, Sado Akihiro graduated from the Faculty of Law, Gakushin University in 1983 and the Graduate School of Social Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University in 1989 and earned his Ph.D. in political science at Gakushin University. Presently, Sado is professor at the School of Business and Public Policies of Chukyo University.

His recent publications include: Jieitai-shi: Boei seisaku no 70-nen [History of Japan Self-Defense Forces: 70 years of defense policy] (2015); Jietai-shi ron: Sei-kan-gun-min no 60-nen [Historiography of the Japan Self-Defense Forces: 60 years of government-bureaucracy-military-civilian relations] (2015); Okinawa gendai seiji-shi [Contemporary political history of Okinawa] (2014); Gendai Nippon seiji-shi (5): Kaikaku seiji no konmei [Contemporary political history of Japan (5): Reform politics in a confusion] (2012); and Sengo Nippon no boei to seiji [National defense and politics in postwar Japan] (2003).

*information as of time of publication

Japan Library series
Political Science

Publisher:
Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture

Hardcover
¥4,450 + tax
ISBN 9784916055743
220 mm x 148 mm / 386 pp. / March 2017

eBook
ISBN 9784866580012 (ePub)
ISBN 9784916055880 (PDF)

CONTENTS
Translator’s Note
Author’s Note to the English Edition
Prologue: Military of a Nation that Renounces War
Part I: Beginning of the Rearmament of Japan
1. Does Establishment of the National Police Reserve Constitute the Rearmament of Japan? / 2. From National Safety Forces to Japan Self Defense Forces
Part II: The Birth and Growth of the JSDF
3. The Defense Agency and the JSDF / 4. The Build Up of Defense Capabilities and a Series of Defense Build-up Plans / 5. The Nakasone Plan and the Argument for Autonomous National Defense / 6. Formulation of the National Defense Program Guidelines
Part III: During the Second Cold War
7. Formulation of the Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation / 8. What Comprehensive Security Is / 9. Toward a Stronger U.S.-Japan Alliance
Part IV: The JSDF and the End of the Cold War
10. Lessons from the Gulf War / 11. Multilateral Security Cooperation vs. the U.S.-Japan Alliance / 12. In the Midst of Redefinition of the U.S.-Japan Security Arrangements / 13. New Threats and the New NDPG / 14. The JSDF at a Turning Point
Postscript: The Transformation of Japan’s Security Policy and the JSDF
Afterword
List of Suggested Readings
Appendices / Index

"While much of the historical narrative in Sado's book will be familiar to students of Japan, there are many unique nuggets in this book that will be of great interest. For example, in showing how each of the three defense forces was founded, the author adds new details that
the reader may not be aware of."

William L. Brooks

Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)

Contemporary Japan

“Sado Akihiro has written a highly readable, well-researched and informative book that offers a conservative interpretation of Japan's Self-Defense Forces, the name it gives its post-war military. Experts and students alike will find this a valuable volume.”

Paul Midford

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

軍事をタブー視した戦後政治のなかで、自衛隊はどのように成⾧したのか。自衛隊の歴史を探り、日米関係や防衛政策の内実も解明する。英文版には、原書発行後の情勢をふまえた補論を追加。いま転換点に立つ自衛隊の実態に鋭く迫る。

佐道明広
1958年、福岡県に生まれる。1983年、学習院大学法学部卒業。1989年、東京都立大学大学院社会科学研究科政治学専攻博士課程単位取得、学習院大学にて博士（政治学）。現在、中京大学総合政策学部教授。
【主な編著書】『戦後日本の防衛と政治』吉川弘文館、2003年、『戦後政治と自衛隊』吉川弘文館、2006年、『沖縄現代政治史』吉田書店、2014年

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