Japan is making progress in resurrecting its military capacity according to this document. The government has increased the legal flexibility of how the military can be used and widened the market for private arms industries. Recruitment efforts have increased while American troops have been relocated to shared new facilities, allowing for better training of new recruits. The 2014 defense white paper labeled China as Japan's top opponent. Underpinning increases in military capacity is Japan's desire to contribute more on the international stage while maintaining its anti-war stance.

1. THE RESURRECTION OF
JAPANESE MILITARY
CAPACITY
By: Sara F. Smith

2. Contents
■ Introduction
■ Research Question andThesis
■ Prevailing perceptions
■ Research Design
■ General Government Actions
■ MilitaryActions and the Relationship with China
■ Cultural Aspects
■ Conclusion

3. Introduction
■ (1) Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and
order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of
the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling
international disputes.
■ (2) In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea,
and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained.
The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

5. Research Question
To what extent is Japan resurrecting its military
capacity independent of American domestic
protection?

6. Thesis
Japan is making deliberate progress in resurrecting its
military capacity, particularly regarding the flexibility in
which it is legally allowed to utilize the military.

7. Prevailing Perceptions
■ Christopher Hughes, a Japan military expert and professor of international politics and
Japanese studies at the University ofWarwick maintains that Japan will certainly not
be content with the current policy initiatives because they will set precedents and set
Japan on the way to further expansion of military activities in the future.
■ Grant Newsham, a senior research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, has
claimed that “opponents [of the change] appear to be quite happy to haveAmericans
go slaughter whoever is threatening Japan… it’s faux pacifism” (Kallender-Umezu,
2014).This is in reference to the key opposition group, the Buddhists.

8. Research Design
■ Core Assumption that Japan is, indeed, taking steps to resurrect its military capacity
– Realism is in line with this assumption, given that states strive for more power in the
international system
■ Breaking down of data into three distinct categories:
1. Legislative, Executive, and Bureaucratic action (General Government Action)
2. Military Actions and the Relationship with China
3. Cultural Aspects

9. General GovernmentActions
■ Keeping the military expenditures at 1% of the GDP, while the DPJ fulfilled its promise
to cut government expenditures by Ұ3 trillion ($30 billion USD) in 2010
■ Revision of theThree Principles onArms Exports (2014) to allow domestic arms
producers to sell to foreign entities given that the entity is not currently involved in
conflicts and the Japanese government give the OK.
– Greatly increased leeway of the private arms manufacturing industry
– Increased competition and profit potential to spur technological advances

10. General GovernmentActions cont.
■ Political elites have repeatedly come out in favor of increasing military capacity and
the legal freedom to use force.
■ Both Prime Minister ShinzoAbe and Deputy Chairman of the 2014 Advisory Panel on
Reconstruction of the Legal Base for Security, Shinichi Kitoaka, have come forth
pushing to allow for increased legal base for using the military.

11. “We as the Japanese government can’t
do a thing to help them. Do you really
think that is good?”

12. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

15. Military Actions and the Relationship
with China
■ The military has been increasing its recruitment efforts, particularly in areas with at-
risk youth. New jieikan popping up.
■ American troops have been relocated to new or recently renovated shared facilities,
allowing for better training of new recruits
■ Japan’s 2014 DefenseWhite Paper clearly labels China as Japan’s top opponent, and “if
future wars explode, China will be Japan’s main combat objective.”
■ Japan very reactionary to Chinese aggressions

17. CulturalAspects
■ Underpinning this entire push towards
increased military capacity is Japan’s strict
revulsion to full-scale war based on Japanese
aggression.
■ A key motive for many Japanese leaders in
increasing military capacity and leeway in use
is for Japan to lift its own weight on the
international scene.
■ Shinichi Kitaoka pushed for legal reform
allowing Japan’s military to assistAmerican
ships should they be attacked

18. “We cannot even help our own citizens yet
expect other militaries come to aid us. It’s
ridiculous”
-Shinichi Kitaoka, 2014

19. Conclusion
Japan is making deliberate progress towards increasing its
military capacity every year. Since the DPJ won elections over
the LDP in 2009, they have made a conscious effort to increase
the legal base for the utilization of the military.The government
has also stepped up recruitment efforts, made strong
statements regarding China, and widened the market for their
private arms industries.

20. THANKYOU.

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