ABSTRACT
This mostly historical chapter investigates in the sedimentation of Japanese postwar pacifist identity. It shows that the process was highly contested and argues that it would be a simplification to dwell on the militarist/antimilitarist distinction before and after World War II. The formation of Japanese pacifism was a discursive struggle between various strands of Japanese society and their identification of the American Other. Since 1960, pragmatic political leaders such as Satō Eisaku, Miki Takeo and Ikeda Hayato played a large role in the sedimentation of Japanese pacifist identity embodied by the Yoshida doctrine. With pacifism in their shield, these politicians focused on trade policies and refrained from any form of militarism or foreign intervention. Since the end of 1980s, this identity began to be questioned by advocates of “normal” Japan. Conservative politicians, such as Prime Minister Abe Shinzō, have called for the return of a strong and confident Japan, which would no longer be constructed around the pacifist identity.
