ABSTRACT
Since their establishment in 1954, the Self Defense Forces (SDF) of Japan have been a contentious issue in Japanese domestic politics. The legitimacy of their existence was opposed by the Japanese Socialist Party, which warned, in addition, of the dangers inherent in their existence or expansion. Nevertheless, as early as 1958 and again in 1961, there were requests from UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold to the Japanese government that Japan commit members of the SDF for service with United Nations peacekeeping missions. Such proposals were supported by the Japanese ambassador to the United Nations, by U.S. diplomats, and by a series of Japanese commissions established to examine the nation's national security issues.
