Article 9 of the Constitution has been said to be the cornerstone of Japan's post World War II pacifist identity. It has allowed Japan to place diplomacy and developmental economics at the center of its foreign policy for over 70 years, eschewing the military as a tool to mitigate or solve disputes between Japan and other countries. The first and second paragraphs of Article 9 read as follows:

"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."

"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."