Japan＇s Defence Industry : Pacifism, Pragmatism and Necessity

Abstract

This paper examines Japanese attitudes to pacifism and their intersection with the country＇s defense needs and argues that adoption of ideologically absolutist positions regarding antimilitarism act in a counterproductive manner by weakening the defense system. These vulnerabilities only serve to provide justification for more aggressive military expansion by a political system that is itself realist in nature and which only pays lip-service to the idea of Japan as a pacifist state. The historical development of the Japanese defense industry is used as an example of the complex role the military system has played in the evolution of modern Japan and how it has been a factor in promoting not only dark periods of ignominy but also many of the technological and political developments which made Japan a strong independent state. This complexity calls for a greater engagement between Japan＇s peace activists and the military defense system itself, in a manner which will produce more pragmatic and effective gains for Japanese and world security.