National identity and Japanese revisionism : Abe Shinzō's vision of a beautiful Japan and its limits / Michal Kolmaš.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kolmaš, Michal, 1985- author.

Series:

Routledge studies on the Asia-Pacific region

Routledge studies on the Asia-Pacific Region

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Japan--Politics and government--1989-.

Japan.

Politics and government.

National characteristics, Japanese.

Japan--Foreign relations--1989-.

International relations.

Diplomatic relations.

Physical Description:

153 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019.

Summary:

"Japan has experienced a radical shift in its self-perception. Before and during World War II, Japan's Bushido militarism led to its great colonial ventures in Asia and beyond. After the humiliating defeat and inscription of a peaceful constitution by the United States however, Japan embraced a peaceful and antimilitarist identity, which was based in its war-prohibiting Constitution and the foreign policy of the Yoshida doctrine. For most of the twentieth century, this 'merchant' identity was unusually stable. Japan refrained from any power policies outside of its borders, including United Nations peacekeeping missions, and focused on economic recovery and foreign trade. In the last three decades, however, Japan's self-perception along with its foreign policy seems to have changed. Gradually, Tokyo has conducted a number of foreign policy measures as well as internal symbolic gestures that would have been unthinkable a few decades ago and that symbolize a new and more confident Japan. Japanese politicians - including the Prime Minister Abe Shinzō - have adopted a new discourse depicting pacifism as a hindrance, rather than asset, to Japan's foreign policy. Japan is at a crossroads. But while political elites and a portion of the Japanese public call for re-articulation of Japan's peaceful national identity, there are still those who cherish the long-held idea of pacifism. Kolmaš connects the dots between national identity theory and Japanese revisionism in order to better understand and predict the direction of a changing Japan"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction : changing Japan?

National identity and the study of contemporary Japan

Sedimentation of the pacifist identity

Abe's convictions and ideological background

Deconstructing Abe's narrative on constitution change, school education, security policy and regional leadership

Conclusion : a limited change for Japan.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781138571464

1138571466

OCLC:

1054260196