ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the origins of the two security discourses that dominated the security debate for most of the Cold War period: the Yoshida Doctrine discourse and the neutralist discourse. The chapter spans the early postwar period, 1945–1960. It begins with a genealogy of the Yoshida Doctrine discourse, which examines how a national policy based on the tenets of a minimalist defense posture, close dependence on US protection, and a strong emphasis on economic growth emerged from the impactful thinking of Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru. It then presents a similar genealogy of the neutralist discourse, tracing its origins back to a highly influential group of peace activists known as the Peace Issues Symposium [Heiwa Mondai Danwakai]. This group’s thinking formed the basis for a security vision centered on neutralism and disarmament, which to varying degrees was adopted by the parties on the political Left. These analyses demonstrate that, despite major differences in opinion over security policy, both discourses found common ground in the notion that postwar Japan had to be different from prewar Japan, and that this difference should be reflected in the country’s security policy. Since the period covered by the chapter is almost entirely before the first year of systematic Diet analysis (1960), it relies more than the other chapters on secondary sources rather than Diet debates.
