ABSTRACT
Narratives of nationalism remain sources of controversy in Japan. Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone once said, ‘Japan has one state, one ethnicity, one language. It is very good that we are a mono-ethnic country, and it’s something that we should be proud of ’ (Yoshimura, 1988, 38). Closed boundary markers such as ‘ethnicity’, ‘family’, or ‘riceculture’ that informed nationalist discourses of uniqueness and homogeneity in the past have been replaced by new concepts as traditional nationalism needs to reinvent and reposition itself in an ever-changing, globalized world. In his book Towards a beautiful country, published in 2006 and updated in 2013, Shinzo Abe laid down his nationalist agenda. His tenure as Prime Minister represents one of the boldest attempts in postwar history to implement fundamental domestic policy changes in order to restore and reclaim a presumably lost national pride. Under the conservative leadership of Abe, the government began celebrating Sovereignty Restoration Day (Shuken kaifuku no hi) in 2013; a special state secrets protection law was enacted in 2014; the SDF agency was upgraded to Defense Ministry; the defense budget has increased; the arms export ban was relaxed; postFukushima nuclear technology export cooperation agreements have been concluded with Turkey and the United Arab Emirates; article 9 of the constitution has been reinterpreted to allow for collective self-defense; and school textbook control has been tightened. In light of these significant developments, what can we discern about the qualities of leadership and ideas that drive Abe’s agenda? In order to better understand his controversial vision for Japan, this chapter presents the author’s translations of key passages from Abe’s book while summarizing and critiquing his main ideas.
