ABSTRACT
Japan’s postwar national security policy has been often called ‘pacifism’ or ‘anti-militarism.’ Japan’s postwar ‘pacifist’ or ‘anti-militaristic’ policy was less strategic than most of the conventional works suppose. The reflection or denial of prewar national security was observed in the ‘revolution’ or the ‘great divide.’ Legalism in postwar Japan has the characteristic of its prewar doctrinal tradition which emphasizes logical coherence in legal reasoning. There are three pillars of domestic credibility in Japan’s postwar national security policy. First, legalism has played the leading role in ensuring it. Maintaining constitutionality became the foundation of postwar Japan’s domestic credibility. Second, under legalism, ‘pacifist defense concepts’ demarcate what range of defense operations and equipment is constitutional from what is not, and in doing so opened the door to legal management in Japan’s national security. Third, limited alliance played a key role in postwar Japan’s national security to balance capability and domestic credibility.
