Cover not available
Article published In:
Journal of Argumentation in Context
Vol. 7:1 (2018) ► pp.18–32

Prime Minister Abe’s challenge to the Japanese Postwar Constitution

| Kanto Gakuin University
| Meiji University

Japan has transformed itself from a militaristic, imperialist state into a pacifist, democratic country as well as a reliable U.S. ally. However, postwar Japan has had two responses to the lost war. On the one hand, conservatives often found it difficult to reconcile themselves with the reality of losing the last war. On the other hand, liberals found themselves at home in line with the Japanese postwar democracy based on the country’s embrace of the no war ideal. Taking into account the tension intrinsic to Japanese interpretations of the postwar Constitution, this study will explore the way in which Prime Minister Abe made confrontational strategic maneuvering in political argumentation. By doing so, it will explicate how Abe sought to identify the context in the way that one should view a reality.

Keywords: constitution, Japan, Just War doctrine, Peace and Security Bills, Shinzo Abe
Article outline
  • Argumentative contexts of Abe’s legislative proposal
  • Historical constraints and Abe’s argumentative strategy
    • The proactive pacifism
    • Geopolitical threats
    • Abe’s version of just war doctrine
  • Conclusions and consequences
  • References
Published online: 7 May 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jaic.16008.oku
References
Abe: Japan will never be drawn into U.S. war 2015, May 21. The Japan News, p. 1.Google Scholar
Abe makes case for security legislation in Diet debate
2015, May 27. The Japan News, p. 1.Google Scholar
Abe: Mideast, Indian Ocean possible logistic support areas 2015, June 3. The Japan News, p. 1.Google Scholar
Aoki, M.
May 28 2015 Abe lays out scenarios for SDF dispatch if security bills pass. The Japan Times. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.Google Scholar
Blair, G.
2015, September 19. New era for Japan. The Christian Science Monitor.Google Scholar
Cabinet approves 2 security bills: Turning point for Japan’s defense policy
. May 15 2015 The Japan News, p. 1.Google Scholar
Cai, H. and Zhang, Y.
2014, August 6. China stands firm against Japanese defense paper. The China Daily. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.Google Scholar
Davis, J. H. and Gordon, M. R.
2015, April 28. U.S. and Japan tighten military cooperation. The New York Times, p. A13.Google Scholar
Diet debates security bills in detail
2015, May 28. The Japan News, p. 1.Google Scholar
Diet deliberations on security legislation focus on criteria
2015, June 9. The Japan News, p. 2.Google Scholar
Dower, J. W.
1999 Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Editorial: Approval for limited exercise of right of collective self-defense constitutional. June 7 2015 The Japan News, p. 4.Google Scholar
Editorial: Diet should consider real threats in its discussion of security bills. June 12 2015 The Japan News, p. 4.Google Scholar
Editorial: Exclusively defense-oriented policy unchanged under new legislation. May 31 2015 The Japan News, p. 4.Google Scholar
Fifield, A.
2015, May 24. Ally of Japan’s premier defends effort to amend constitution. The Washington Post, p. A22.Google Scholar
2015, August 14. “Japan’s leader stops short of WWI apology.” The Washington Post. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.Google Scholar
Friday, K.
2006 Might makes right: Just war and just warfare in early Medieval Japan. In T. Brekke (Ed.), The ethics of war in Asian civilizations: A comparative perspective (pp. 159–84). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Fukuma, Y.
2007 Junkoku to hangyaku: “Tokko” no katari no sengoshi. Tokyo: Sekai Shisosha.Google Scholar
Funabashi, Y.
2015, August 13. Japan’s gray-haired pacifism. The New York Times. Retrieved from [URL].
Japan in depth: Abe avoids controversy in security bills debate 2015, May 22. The Japan News, p. 1.Google Scholar
Japan security debate masks differences on pacifist character constitution seen as a shoddy document
2015, July 15. The Nation. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.Google Scholar
Kameda, M.
May 15 2015 Abe says new security bills are not “war legislation.” The Japan Times. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.Google Scholar
Kameda, M. and Yoshida, R.
January 1 2015 Year ahead may mark turning point for SDF. The Japan Times. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.Google Scholar
Legislative reforms aim to remove geographical limit on SDF work
2015, June 7. The Japan News, p. 2.Google Scholar
Macagno, F. and Walton, D.
2016 Emotive language in argumentation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
McCurry, J.
2015, September 18. Japanese soldiers could fight abroad again after security bill passed. The Guardian. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.Google Scholar
Mie, A.
2014, June 25. Abe offers concession on collective defense. The Japan Times. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.Google Scholar
More time won’t justify security bills
2015, June 26. The Japan Times. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.Google Scholar
Mosse, G.
1990 Fallen soldiers: Reshaping the memory of the world wars. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
New security bills envision threats to Japanese people
. May 29 2015 The Japan News, p. 2.Google Scholar
O’Brien, W.
1981 The conduct of just and limited war. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Orend, B.
2006 The morality of war. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview Press.Google Scholar
Parry, R. L.
2015, September 15. Japanese forces live in fear of their first battle since 1945. The Times (London), p. 38.Google Scholar
2015, November 30. From our correspondent: After 70 years of pacifism, Japan has given itself the power to go to war, but do its soldiers really want to fight? The Times (London), p. 39.Google Scholar
Pilling, D.
2015, April 23. An unsinkable Pacific alliance. The Financial Times. Retrieved from [URL]
SDF logistic support only possible when strict rules met, Abe says
2015, May 29. The Japan News. p. 1.Google Scholar
Security bills raise critical questions
. May 23 2015 The Japan Times. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.Google Scholar
Soble, J.
2015, July 17. Lower house in Japan acts to ease limits on military. The International New York Times, p. 1.Google Scholar
Stop dodging key security questions
2015, June 18. The Japan Times. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.Google Scholar
van Eemeren, F. H.
2010 Strategic maneuvering in argumentative discourse. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
van Eemeren, F. H. and Houtlosser, P.
2002 Strategic maneuvering: Maintaining a delicate balance. van Eemeren, F. H. and Houtlosser, P. (Eds.). Dialectic and rhetoric: The warp and woof of argumentation analysis. (pp. 131–159). Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Walton, D.
2005 Deceptive arguments containing persuasive language and persuasive definitions. Argumentation 191, pp. 159–186. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Waltzer, M.
1977 Just and unjust war. 3rd ed. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Wrong way to pass security bills
2015, July 17. The Japan Times. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.Google Scholar
Yoshida, R.
2015, June 19. Supreme court unlikely to rule on Abe’s Article 9 revamp. The Japan Times. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.Google Scholar
Zarefsky, D.
1997 Keynote address: Definitions. Klumpp, J. F. (Ed.). Argument in a time of change: Definitions, frameworks, and critiques. (pp. 1–11). Annandale, VA.: National Communication Association.Google Scholar
2006 Strategic maneuvering through persuasive definitions: Implications for dialectic and rhetoric. Argumentation 20, pp. 399–416.Google Scholar