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Japan Rearmed: The Politics of Military Power
Japan’s U.S. – imposed postwar constitution renounced the use of offensive military force, but, as Sheila Smith shows, a nuclear North Korea and an increasingly assertive China have the Japanese rethinking that commitment, and their reliance on United States security.
Japan has one of Asia’s most technologically advanced militaries and yet struggles to use its hard power as an instrument of national policy. The horrors of World War II continue to haunt policymakers in Tokyo, while China and South Korea remain wary of any military ambitions Japan may entertain. Yet a fundamental shift in East Asian geopolitics has forced Japan to rethink the commitment to pacifism it made during the U.S. occupation. It has increasingly flexed its muscles―deploying troops under UN auspices, participating in coercive sanctions, augmenting surveillance capabilities, and raising defense budgets.
Article Nine of Japan’s constitution, drafted by U.S. authorities in 1946, claims that the Japanese people “forever renounce the use of force as a means of settling international disputes.” When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe broke this taboo by advocating revision of Article Nine, public outcry was surprisingly muted. The military, once feared as a security liability, now appears to be an indispensable asset, called upon with increasing frequency and given a seat at the policymaking table.
In Japan Rearmed Sheila Smith argues that Japan is not only responding to increasing threats from North Korean missiles and Chinese maritime activities but also reevaluating its dependence on the United States. No longer convinced that they can rely on Americans to defend Japan, Tokyo’s political leaders are now confronting the possibility that they may need to prepare the nation’s military for war.
Japan has one of Asia’s most technologically advanced militaries and yet struggles to use its hard power as an instrument of national policy. The horrors of World War II continue to haunt policymakers in Tokyo, while China and South Korea remain wary of any military ambitions Japan may entertain. Yet a fundamental shift in East Asian geopolitics has forced Japan to rethink the commitment to pacifism it made during the U.S. occupation. It has increasingly flexed its muscles―deploying troops under UN auspices, participating in coercive sanctions, augmenting surveillance capabilities, and raising defense budgets.
Article Nine of Japan’s constitution, drafted by U.S. authorities in 1946, claims that the Japanese people “forever renounce the use of force as a means of settling international disputes.” When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe broke this taboo by advocating revision of Article Nine, public outcry was surprisingly muted. The military, once feared as a security liability, now appears to be an indispensable asset, called upon with increasing frequency and given a seat at the policymaking table.
In Japan Rearmed Sheila Smith argues that Japan is not only responding to increasing threats from North Korean missiles and Chinese maritime activities but also reevaluating its dependence on the United States. No longer convinced that they can rely on Americans to defend Japan, Tokyo’s political leaders are now confronting the possibility that they may need to prepare the nation’s military for war.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published April 8, 2019
23 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Sheila A. Smith
10 books13 followersSheila A. Smith, an expert on Japanese politics and foreign policy, is senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She is the author of Intimate Rivals: Japanese Domestic Politics and a Rising China (Columbia University Press, 2015) and Japan's New Politics and the U.S.-Japan Alliance (Council on Foreign Relations, June 2014). Her current research focuses on how geostrategic change in Asia is shaping Japan's strategic choices. In the fall of 2014, Smith began a new project on Northeast Asian Nationalisms and Alliance Management.
Smith is a regular contributor to the CFR blog Asia Unbound, and frequent contributor to major media outlets in the United States and Asia. She joined CFR from the East-West Center in 2007, where she directed a multinational research team in a cross-national study of the domestic politics of the U.S. military presence in Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. She was a visiting scholar at Keio University in 2007-08, where she researched Japan’s foreign policy towards China, supported by the Abe Fellowship. Smith has been a visiting researcher at two leading Japanese foreign and security policy think tanks, the Japan Institute of International Affairs and the Research Institute for Peace and Security, and at the University of Tokyo and the University of the Ryukyus.
Smith is vice chair of the U.S. advisors to the U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Exchange (CULCON), a bi-national advisory panel of government officials and private sector members. She teaches as an adjunct professor at the Asian Studies Department of Georgetown University and serves on the board of its Journal of Asian Affairs. She earned her MA and PhD degrees from the department of political science at Columbia University.
(from http://www.cfr.org/experts/asia-and-p...)
Smith is a regular contributor to the CFR blog Asia Unbound, and frequent contributor to major media outlets in the United States and Asia. She joined CFR from the East-West Center in 2007, where she directed a multinational research team in a cross-national study of the domestic politics of the U.S. military presence in Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. She was a visiting scholar at Keio University in 2007-08, where she researched Japan’s foreign policy towards China, supported by the Abe Fellowship. Smith has been a visiting researcher at two leading Japanese foreign and security policy think tanks, the Japan Institute of International Affairs and the Research Institute for Peace and Security, and at the University of Tokyo and the University of the Ryukyus.
Smith is vice chair of the U.S. advisors to the U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Exchange (CULCON), a bi-national advisory panel of government officials and private sector members. She teaches as an adjunct professor at the Asian Studies Department of Georgetown University and serves on the board of its Journal of Asian Affairs. She earned her MA and PhD degrees from the department of political science at Columbia University.
(from http://www.cfr.org/experts/asia-and-p...)
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 30, 2020
Before I say anything about this book, I need to confess I know the author (to whatever degree), highly respect her expertise on Japan (she's the Council on Foreign Relations' Senior Fellow for Japan), so this commentary and rating possibly may not be as reasonably objective as I try to make most of my ratings/reviews. That said, when she came out with this book recently, I was elated and dived in. It's taken me a long time to work my way through because I have this horrible habit of reading far too many books simultaneously, which just slows everything down. And I've been meaning to contact her and give her some kudos for producing a great work here, but I've been too tied up to even keep up with people like I typically have over my life.
That said, I can hardly think of a more timely book. Particularly as it relates to the topic at hand. Millions (okay, maybe fewer, but still quite a lot) have been "China watchers" for years now and while it's sensible, advisable, necessary, etc., to keep eyes trained on Beijing, and particularly as variables within the South China Sea become more clusterf*cked, more hostile, as the PLAN continues its progression into the India Sea, now being joined by Russia and Iran in a potential new axis of maritime adversaries, and as China has already tangled with the Philippines and Vietnam, and as India strives to become another possible regional hegemony, I think many of us in the west (understandably, perhaps) tend to lose track of some other states of import, most notably our longtime allies, at least one of whom is now feeling completely abandoned by the current US Administration and any defense agreements we've had since WWII (Australia), which I think is a travesty considering what a great and faithful ally Australia has been to the US over that time period, joining the US with only a couple of other states in fighting alongside us in the various "conflicts" we've found ourselves -- unlike the vast majority of other, more "prominent" allies. Australia is so panicked that debate as been ongoing there on what to do regarding China, the Indo-Pacific region, and defense of their own country as they lack any form of serious navy, having built their defense doctrine on dependence on the USN. Which no longer looks like a sure thing, so major leaders are actually calling for the country to withdraw from the NPT and illegally go nuclear for survival's sake! Which is a sad commentary.
Meanwhile, South Korea is facing its own challenges due to not only China, but their northern neighbors, whose leader seems cleverly insane. Plays a tough game. But the focus here is obviously the one that seems to get forgotten in all of these geopolitical games -- Japan.
It's great to see this major Asian/East Asian state that has been basically boxed into a corner it's trying to get out of become the focus of some good new research and analysis produced and published just at the right time. Because for those caught up in the SCS BS going on daily, all too many people seem to neglect the games being placed in the ECS (East China Sea). Between China and Japan. Or more accurately, between the PLAAF/PLAN over the Senkaku Islands, or the Diaoyu Islands as the PRC insists on referring to them as, and the JCG and JASDF. And it couldn't be any more stupid than this, but it is, and yes, it's merely symbolic, but the fact that one state feels so aggressive about a group of small uninhabited islands that Japan legally owns, per international law and recognition, that it's willing to take "testing" the much smaller and spreader thinned out JCG and JASDF by sending hundreds or even thousands of Chinese fishing boats into the contested waters or a larger number of aircraft buzzing the islands constantly, itching for an "opportunity" to do who knows what at the very plausible risk of a regional war that could spread once you bring contesting hegemonies into the equation ... well, that's either a sign of supreme confidence (maybe Pillsbury was right, but was too generous in his predictions of when the CCP would show its hand?), supreme stupidity if it actually is willing to risk a potential world war by hedging its bets the US won't want to enter such a war merely because of decades-old defense commitments and treaties between the US and Japan (which is actually NOT a bad gamble on their part circa early 2020 as I write this), or typical CCP craftiness in pushing all as far as possible to get as much as possible by whatever means necessary -- short of all out war. Which is my take on it at the present, but I'm willing to adjust that analysis as events transpire.
One may be a follower of issues, variables, geopolitical tensions, etc., throughout the greater Asian and East Asian regions, and they may be aware to some degree of what potential threat a burgeoning regional hegemony may present, but they may not possess the context Sheila provides in this book, such as how Japan has historically had its political and hence military hands tied when it came to defense spending, military building, etc., due largely to the constitution the US drew up for the country upon its surrender in 1945, and due to a combination of war guilt, the struggle to rebuild a country and economy, and to yes, abide by the constitution they now were governed by which has limited their ability and indeed desire to "go military." And with China incessantly goading them eternally for the atrocities committed during the last century, the most famous of which was Nanking, those historically cautioning against appearing antagonistic in building up a (smallish) military for defense are now being countered by those who, like our other traditional allies in that area (such as Australia and South Korea), are getting sick and tired of Xi throwing his weight around yet fear if conflict comes, they'll be on their own -- hence the topic of the book titled "Japan Rearmed." Frankly, there's much more than simply what I've described or alluded to (and I've possibly even gone off track, inadvertently -- a bad habit), but if I went into more, I'd be writing a book myself (another major element is merely the concept of an offensive militarized Japan with all of the possible regional implications that might entail...)! This is really one of the best books on the topic I've seen come along in a very long time. And again, so relevant and timely. I couldn't urge people around the globe, let alone in the west and US, to read this more strongly than I am now, because I think it's essential that we understanding the changing dynamics of a newly multi-polar world that's been shifting to the east for over two decades. There are more variables than one cares to think about, but think about them one must (or should).
I feel like I didn't do the book or the author sufficient justice in what I've written, but my health has sadly deteriorated to the point where I rarely write long, meaningful or in-depth book reviews like I did for many years, and I just don't have the time and energy I once did. So my hope is the author will forgive any shortcomings in this review and will appreciate the overall spirit of support and enthusiasm I have for this book because I think it's the best one I've seen published in the last several years amongst the Asian "experts" out there, no others being specifically named or mentioned at this time. Personally, there may be one or two experts out there who have very high profiles, and everyone seems to dote on every word they produce, but for my money Sheila Smith can think, research, analyze and write her way around all of them, and if this book isn't proof, I'm not sure what would be. Most strongly recommended for those who are into international relations, Asia, East Asia, China, Japan, geopolitics, the growth of regional hegemonies, the global shift to the east, the dynamics being played out daily, etc. Literally one of the best of hundreds of books I've read over the past couple of years. Get a copy.
That said, I can hardly think of a more timely book. Particularly as it relates to the topic at hand. Millions (okay, maybe fewer, but still quite a lot) have been "China watchers" for years now and while it's sensible, advisable, necessary, etc., to keep eyes trained on Beijing, and particularly as variables within the South China Sea become more clusterf*cked, more hostile, as the PLAN continues its progression into the India Sea, now being joined by Russia and Iran in a potential new axis of maritime adversaries, and as China has already tangled with the Philippines and Vietnam, and as India strives to become another possible regional hegemony, I think many of us in the west (understandably, perhaps) tend to lose track of some other states of import, most notably our longtime allies, at least one of whom is now feeling completely abandoned by the current US Administration and any defense agreements we've had since WWII (Australia), which I think is a travesty considering what a great and faithful ally Australia has been to the US over that time period, joining the US with only a couple of other states in fighting alongside us in the various "conflicts" we've found ourselves -- unlike the vast majority of other, more "prominent" allies. Australia is so panicked that debate as been ongoing there on what to do regarding China, the Indo-Pacific region, and defense of their own country as they lack any form of serious navy, having built their defense doctrine on dependence on the USN. Which no longer looks like a sure thing, so major leaders are actually calling for the country to withdraw from the NPT and illegally go nuclear for survival's sake! Which is a sad commentary.
Meanwhile, South Korea is facing its own challenges due to not only China, but their northern neighbors, whose leader seems cleverly insane. Plays a tough game. But the focus here is obviously the one that seems to get forgotten in all of these geopolitical games -- Japan.
It's great to see this major Asian/East Asian state that has been basically boxed into a corner it's trying to get out of become the focus of some good new research and analysis produced and published just at the right time. Because for those caught up in the SCS BS going on daily, all too many people seem to neglect the games being placed in the ECS (East China Sea). Between China and Japan. Or more accurately, between the PLAAF/PLAN over the Senkaku Islands, or the Diaoyu Islands as the PRC insists on referring to them as, and the JCG and JASDF. And it couldn't be any more stupid than this, but it is, and yes, it's merely symbolic, but the fact that one state feels so aggressive about a group of small uninhabited islands that Japan legally owns, per international law and recognition, that it's willing to take "testing" the much smaller and spreader thinned out JCG and JASDF by sending hundreds or even thousands of Chinese fishing boats into the contested waters or a larger number of aircraft buzzing the islands constantly, itching for an "opportunity" to do who knows what at the very plausible risk of a regional war that could spread once you bring contesting hegemonies into the equation ... well, that's either a sign of supreme confidence (maybe Pillsbury was right, but was too generous in his predictions of when the CCP would show its hand?), supreme stupidity if it actually is willing to risk a potential world war by hedging its bets the US won't want to enter such a war merely because of decades-old defense commitments and treaties between the US and Japan (which is actually NOT a bad gamble on their part circa early 2020 as I write this), or typical CCP craftiness in pushing all as far as possible to get as much as possible by whatever means necessary -- short of all out war. Which is my take on it at the present, but I'm willing to adjust that analysis as events transpire.
One may be a follower of issues, variables, geopolitical tensions, etc., throughout the greater Asian and East Asian regions, and they may be aware to some degree of what potential threat a burgeoning regional hegemony may present, but they may not possess the context Sheila provides in this book, such as how Japan has historically had its political and hence military hands tied when it came to defense spending, military building, etc., due largely to the constitution the US drew up for the country upon its surrender in 1945, and due to a combination of war guilt, the struggle to rebuild a country and economy, and to yes, abide by the constitution they now were governed by which has limited their ability and indeed desire to "go military." And with China incessantly goading them eternally for the atrocities committed during the last century, the most famous of which was Nanking, those historically cautioning against appearing antagonistic in building up a (smallish) military for defense are now being countered by those who, like our other traditional allies in that area (such as Australia and South Korea), are getting sick and tired of Xi throwing his weight around yet fear if conflict comes, they'll be on their own -- hence the topic of the book titled "Japan Rearmed." Frankly, there's much more than simply what I've described or alluded to (and I've possibly even gone off track, inadvertently -- a bad habit), but if I went into more, I'd be writing a book myself (another major element is merely the concept of an offensive militarized Japan with all of the possible regional implications that might entail...)! This is really one of the best books on the topic I've seen come along in a very long time. And again, so relevant and timely. I couldn't urge people around the globe, let alone in the west and US, to read this more strongly than I am now, because I think it's essential that we understanding the changing dynamics of a newly multi-polar world that's been shifting to the east for over two decades. There are more variables than one cares to think about, but think about them one must (or should).
I feel like I didn't do the book or the author sufficient justice in what I've written, but my health has sadly deteriorated to the point where I rarely write long, meaningful or in-depth book reviews like I did for many years, and I just don't have the time and energy I once did. So my hope is the author will forgive any shortcomings in this review and will appreciate the overall spirit of support and enthusiasm I have for this book because I think it's the best one I've seen published in the last several years amongst the Asian "experts" out there, no others being specifically named or mentioned at this time. Personally, there may be one or two experts out there who have very high profiles, and everyone seems to dote on every word they produce, but for my money Sheila Smith can think, research, analyze and write her way around all of them, and if this book isn't proof, I'm not sure what would be. Most strongly recommended for those who are into international relations, Asia, East Asia, China, Japan, geopolitics, the growth of regional hegemonies, the global shift to the east, the dynamics being played out daily, etc. Literally one of the best of hundreds of books I've read over the past couple of years. Get a copy.
October 30, 2020
A very clear eyed, somewhat US-biased but overall realistic assessment of Japan's current international security situation and its background.
It is very refreshing that it explains how Japan has been one of the most peaceful states since WWII, and also offers a clear eyed assessment of the extremely risky environment of the country with three of the most belligerent and aggressive countries being present with large forces in the region (US, China, Russia).
It makes moderate but sensible recommendations that Japanese policymakers and the public should also take into account.
There are two conclusions for me: it would be fantastic if all countries would have gone down the road that Japan took after WWII and giving up attacking capabilities. Japan does have a military but does not have most of the first strike and long-distance strike, and forward capacities that other states - South-Korea, Saudi Arabia, the US, China, Russia, the UK, etc. - do. Such a world would be much more safe and negotiations between states could rest more on considerations about law, trade, education and so on.
However, this is not the case, and hence the naive stance that Japan does not need first strike and stronger defense capabilities needs to be revised. The trope of aggressive Japan, based on the imperial army's behavior 80-90 years ago has been used by US journalists, and the Chinese and South-Korean diplomacy to attack Japan in perfectly unjustified ways during the last decades. This kind of propaganda needs to be ignored, and Japan has to take its safety more seriously, including considering the serious possibility of the US becoming a more-and-more disengaged and unreliable partner. The book provides a useful introduction and bases to understand why this is so.
It is very refreshing that it explains how Japan has been one of the most peaceful states since WWII, and also offers a clear eyed assessment of the extremely risky environment of the country with three of the most belligerent and aggressive countries being present with large forces in the region (US, China, Russia).
It makes moderate but sensible recommendations that Japanese policymakers and the public should also take into account.
There are two conclusions for me: it would be fantastic if all countries would have gone down the road that Japan took after WWII and giving up attacking capabilities. Japan does have a military but does not have most of the first strike and long-distance strike, and forward capacities that other states - South-Korea, Saudi Arabia, the US, China, Russia, the UK, etc. - do. Such a world would be much more safe and negotiations between states could rest more on considerations about law, trade, education and so on.
However, this is not the case, and hence the naive stance that Japan does not need first strike and stronger defense capabilities needs to be revised. The trope of aggressive Japan, based on the imperial army's behavior 80-90 years ago has been used by US journalists, and the Chinese and South-Korean diplomacy to attack Japan in perfectly unjustified ways during the last decades. This kind of propaganda needs to be ignored, and Japan has to take its safety more seriously, including considering the serious possibility of the US becoming a more-and-more disengaged and unreliable partner. The book provides a useful introduction and bases to understand why this is so.
August 10, 2019
A good review of the history of Japan's complicated civilian-military relationship, and how that relationship affects Japan's response to the country's current strategic challenges. It's not an exaggeration to say that those challenges are more complex now than during the Cold War. Through the Cold War, Japan could rely on the US for strategic deterrence against the Soviets. That freed military planners to build the Self Defense Force adequate for the protection of Japan's territory, with no need to worry about supporting foreign interventions or even collective defense. Now, the potential threats include a growing and more aggressive China, a resurgent Russia and a nuclear-armed North Korea. At the same time, the unstable leadership of the US means that American allies have to consider the real risk that the US might turn its back on them in the case of a conflict. Japanese policy makers find themselves in a bind. The current constitution that limits Japanese military capability and doctrine may not be adequate for today's challenges, but there is also strong domestic opposition and fierce regional suspicions against any changes to the constitution that could loosen those military limitations.
June 25, 2019
An excellent primer of Japan’s move to re-arm in the face of an increasingly aggressive China and a nuclear North Korea.
July 26, 2019
This book should be required reading for US service members coming to Japan. Captures the history and current status of the politics and capabilities of the Japan Self Defense Forces.
February 1, 2025
Some interesting points of Japanese history hidden in all the folds of typical political "scientist" constant repetition of the same points over and over and over again.
Political "scientists" do not do history real well. Smith makes like "pacifism" is a brand-new post 1945 Japanese phenomena when, in reality, Japanese foreign and military policy since 1945 has very much replicated the policy of the Bafuku/Edo, except that post-1945 Japan has a maritime self-defence force whereas the Tokugawas banned ocean-going vessels.
Political "scientists" do not do history real well. Smith makes like "pacifism" is a brand-new post 1945 Japanese phenomena when, in reality, Japanese foreign and military policy since 1945 has very much replicated the policy of the Bafuku/Edo, except that post-1945 Japan has a maritime self-defence force whereas the Tokugawas banned ocean-going vessels.
June 1, 2021
Great history of the Japanese Self Defense Forces and how the Diet leadership has employed them based on evolving interpretations of their Post-WWII constitution (particularly article 9). Only criticism is that I would've enjoyed more recommendations - both on the organic Japanese side and how America could better develop this crucial alliance.
February 19, 2020
a little dry, but decent overview of postwar Japanese history.
March 26, 2024
U.S. wants Japan to militarize.
Japanese people don't want to.
Japanese gov't doesn't want to but also doesn't 100% trust U.S. to take on the burden if China or anyone else gets froggy.
JSDF are trained and equipped like globe-trotting military with support of U.S. But Japanese gov't says, "no, no, you stay here."
Japan still doesn't apologize or acknowledge being LITERAL demons in WWII.
There. I saved you the time of reading this book.
Japanese people don't want to.
Japanese gov't doesn't want to but also doesn't 100% trust U.S. to take on the burden if China or anyone else gets froggy.
JSDF are trained and equipped like globe-trotting military with support of U.S. But Japanese gov't says, "no, no, you stay here."
Japan still doesn't apologize or acknowledge being LITERAL demons in WWII.
There. I saved you the time of reading this book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews