| Abstract: | Constructivists have advanced the study of Japanese nationalsecurity policy by illuminating how normative factors shapestate behavior. At the same time, they have overemphasized therole norms and ideas play while downplaying the structural andmaterial forces that often underlie normative factors. Thisarticle seeks to reveal the political foundations of Japanesepostwar pacifism. It maintains that explanations based on normsand identities cannot be separated from discussion on materialand structural factors when it comes to the question of wherenorms come from and why they are sustained. Power and interestsmay not explain everything, but they often account for why certainnorms emerge and are sustained to influence policy. By examiningthe shifts in public opinions and the Social Democratic Party'sdefense policy, this article argues that Japan's postwar pacifismhas been possible in large part because peace was relativelyabundant in postwar Japan and that the majority of the Japanesefelt that the alliance with the United States contributed tothat effect. |
