BOYD, James Patrick III    Department   Aoyama Gakuin University  Department of International Politics, School of International Politics, Economics and Communication    Position   Associate Professor
Language	English
Publication Date	2005
Type	Academic Journal
Peer Review	Peer reviewed
Title	Nine Lives?: The Politics of Constitutional Reform in Japan
Contribution Type	Collaboration
Volume, Issue, Page	pp.1-77
Author and coauthor	Richard J. Samuels
Details	This monograph addresses two questions. Why has Article Nine of Japan’s postwar constitution, the famous “peace clause” renouncing the possession and use of force for settling international disputes, survived so long without amendment? And why has the Article Nine issue returned to the political agenda with such force in recent years? To address these questions, we examine evidence from the two strongest revisionist movements in postwar Japanese history: the immediate postwar period (1947–64) and the post-Cold War period (1990–present). Based on these cases, we locate the primary source of Article Nine’s longevity in domestic politics. Specifically, Article Nine has found critical support from a diverse coalition driven by two very different motivations, pragmatism, and pacifism. Pragmatism refers to a particular set of beliefs used to calculate the postwar national interest in exceedingly practical (cost/benefit) terms. Pacifism, by contrast, refers to adherence to the doctrine of state nonviolence. This belief spread as part of an identity movement that redefined postwar Japan as a “peace nation” (heiwa kokka). Although the relative strength of these two forces has varied over the years, each in its own right has been a formidable obstacle to significant change in Article Nine. Despite this long track record—and although revision is by no means a foregone conclusion—the tripartite political dynamic among pacifists, pragmatists, and those who sought to revise Article Nine has recently shifted in ways that make amendment far more likely than ever before. There has been a tremendous rise in revisionist sentiment in the political parties, the Diet, and the public. And, the pragmatist/pacifist coalition has been greatly weakened.