Utopian Unarmed Pacifism Is Coming to An End

Abstract

The Kishida administration adopted a set of three new national security and defense strategy documents at a Cabinet meeting in December 2022. They included the decision to possess counterstrike capabilities, something the author had advocated for many years. This article reviews the evolution of Japan’s security policy from the postwar era to today and discusses how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has clarified the national security strategy that Japan should pursue.