The End Of Japan’s Policy Of Pacifism
May 12, 2017
Japan has long depended on the U.S. to protect it militarily, as its own armed forces were virtually eliminated in the wake of World War II. But a new push for the end of Japanese pacifism is under way, with the U.S. military-industrial complex set to profit from the expansion of Japan’s military.
Since taking office in 2012, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has caused a furor in the nation over his push for a stronger military that would be free from the shackles of Japan’s pacifist constitution. While Abe is technically responsible for the remilitarization of Japan, he may simply be a pawn in the U.S.-Japanese “strategic relationship” in which Japan itself is largely voiceless.
Following the post-World War II Allied occupation of the country and its near complete disarmament, Japan was all but forced to align itself with U.S. interests as it came to exclusively rely on the U.S. military for its defense. To this day, the U.S. State Department refers to the American-Japanese relationship as “the cornerstone of U.S. security interests in Asia and […] fundamental to regional stability and prosperity.”
