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Description

This Strategic Forum policy brief examines the evolving debate in Japan over constitutional revision and defense policy reform in the post–Cold War security environment. Focusing on Article IX of the 1947 constitution, which renounces war and restricts military capabilities, the article analyzes pressures driving reconsideration of Japan’s defense posture, including generational change, North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs, China’s growing power, participation in international peacekeeping operations, ballistic missile defense cooperation with the United States, and the Iraq War. The study outlines competing political perspectives—“alliance nationalists,” “internationalists,” and “neo-nationalists”—and assesses their influence on the revision of Japan’s National Defense Program Outline (NDPO). It concludes that while Japan is unlikely to abandon the pacifist spirit of Article IX, amendments to legitimize the Self-Defense Forces and clarify the right of self-defense, including limited collective self-defense, are increasingly probable. The evolution of Japan’s defense policy is expected to strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance while expanding Japan’s capacity for international security cooperation.

Document Type

Policy Brief

Region(s)

Asia, East Asia, Japan

Topic(s)

Military Strategy, National Security, Strategic Competition

Publication Date

11-2004

Publication

Strategic Forum

Publisher

National Defense University Press

City

Washington, DC

Keywords

Japan Constitution, Article IX, Japanese Defense Policy, Self-Defense Forces (SDF), Collective Self-Defense, National Defense Program Outline (NDPO), U.S.-Japan Security Alliance, Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD), Constitutional Reform Japan, Pacifism, North Korea Security Threat, China Security Policy, International Peacekeeping Operations, Security Policy Reform, Japanese National Security

Japan’s Constitution and Defense Policy: Entering a New Era?

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