ABSTRACT
The Japanese representatives countered United States (US) demands for extensive rearmament by detailing some constraints presented by the internal situation in Japan. Political and social constraints arose from public attitudes molded by the occupation’s antimilitaristic educational policies, though of course also reinforced by painful memories of what militarism had brought to Japan. The prevailing sense in Japan of being completely subordinated to US policies was felt as harmful to national morale by all segments of society in various ways, whether left wing, right wing, or pragmatic mainstream. The US attempted to obtain Japanese military participation to join the other auxiliaries from South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand but was again refused on the grounds of Article 9. In late 1970, there occurred a singularly traumatic episode, reminiscent of the turmoil of the 1930s, which for a time triggered intense debate on the contemporary state of the Japanese national psyche, though without any longterm effects beyond a limited cult circle.
