As demonstrated by the most recent mass demonstration in front of the Diet, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe now faces vehement opposition from pacifist elements to the raft of security-related bills introduced by his Cabinet. The hard-core component consists of postwar baby boomers who experienced first-hand the impact of the U.S.-led Occupation involving demilitarization, democratization and pacifist education.
These pacifists in their 60s now occupy leadership roles across Japanese society. Given their age, the situation is transitory in nature, yet salient because the silent majority remains reserved in the predominantly pacifist inertia. With the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, possessing a two-thirds majority in the Lower House and a simple majority in the Upper House, the bills will surely pass. But forcing their passage would impair the longevity of the LDP government.
Diet deliberations have been trapped in a stalemate of highly legalistic, circular arguments of pros and cons. In July 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe changed the longtime interpretation of Article 9 of the Constitution to enable a limited exercise of the right to collective self-defense with the United States and its major allies. Given that this will never be acceptable for fundamentalist pacifists, it is crucial to trace the security policy process that led to the constitutional reinterpretation that serves as the basis for the security-related bills.