Japan's Postwar Military and Civil Society: Contesting a Better Life (SOAS Studies in Modern and Contemporary Japan)

"Japan's so-called 'peace constitution' renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation, and bans the nation from possessing any war potential. Yet Japan also maintains a large, world-class military organization, namely the Self-Defence Forces (SDF). In this book, Tomoyuki Sasaki explores how the SDF enlisted popular support from civil society and how civil society responded to the growth of the SDF. Japan's Postwar Military and Civil Society details the interactions between the SDF and civil society over four decades, from the launch of rearmament in 1950. These interactions include recruitment, civil engineering, disaster relief, anti-SDF litigation, state financial support for communities with bases, and a fear-mongering campaign against the Soviet Union. By examining these wide-range issues, the book demonstrates how the militarization of society advanced as the SDF consolidated its ideological and socio-economic ties with civil society and its role as a defender of popular welfare. While postwar Japan is often depicted as a peaceful society, this book challenges such a view, and illuminates the prominent presence of the military in people's everyday lives."--Bloomsbury Publishing. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents List of Tables and Maps Abbreviations Acknowledgments Introduction: Militarization in Democracy The Peace Constitution and rearmament Militarization as a useful concept The SDF in Hokkaido and the US forces in Okinawa Democracy as a background Organization of the book 1. A Promised Opportunity: The Self-Defense Forces in the Labor Market Absorbing surplus population Recruitment since the 1960s: old and new trends Building a network The volunteer army in capitalism Conclusion 2. Becoming an Army for the People: The Self-Defense Forces in Hokkaido Communities The idea of an army for the people Colonial Hokkaido Building and rescuing Hokkaido Becoming service members Settling service members in Hokkaido Conclusion 3. Peace in Dispute: Anti-Military Litigation and the Constitutionality of the Self-Defense Forces The Eniwa case Conceptualizing the right to live in peace The Naganuma case The aftermath: the ruling reversed Conclusion 4. Overcoming Crises: The Emergence of the Defense Facilities Administration Agency The Defense Facilities Administration Agency as a mediator The New Improvement Law Military town Chitose Toward “harmony” and the institutionalization of objection Conclusion 5. “The Threat from the North”: Fear-Mongering and the Making of Military Base Hokkaido Formation of the northern threat Reinforcing defense autonomy, silencing Hokkaido A right-wing turn in national politics Military base Hokkaido Conclusion Conclusion: Where is Militarization Headed? Notes Bibliography Index Tomoyuki Sasaki. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 185-202) And Index.