Introduction

The introductory chapter lays down the framework of the book. The main goal of the book is to appraise the dynamic of Japanese political and societal change through the combination of social constructivist and post-structural national identity theory. It deconstructs Prime Minister Abe Shinzō’s identity narrative in order to illustrate that his revisionism goes to the very core of Japanese politics and society, and then investigates the ways how sedimented national identity slows down or prevents the narrative from materializing. It argues that this dynamic between revisionism and identity best explains the developments of Japanese politics and society. The book unfolds this argument in several chapters that deal with Abe’s push for a constitutional change, narrative on school education, push for a more assertive security policy and leadership in regional multilateralism.