Japan is still not comfortable with its own sense of identity
of the world will be upon Japan next summer when Tokyo hosts the Olympics. Of that, the country is acutely aware. Barely a week goes by without mention of the attention that the games will bring. This has been used to argue for everything from curbs on single-use plastic to changes in the way Japanese names are written in English. The country is not accustomed to being centre stage.
Its defeat in that war, and America’s subsequent occupation and castration of Japan militarily, destroyed the power of that identity—and the country’s self-esteem. In its place Japan sought, and found, a new narrative: since 1945, goes the tale, the collective effort of its people has transformed the country into a developed nation with a powerful economy that is—crucially—pacifist.
But the contradictions within Japan’s sense of identity compound its insecurity. It wants both to stand out and to fit in. It strives to be a nation that is advanced and respected globally, but not feared. It is influenced by Asia and America in equal measure. Japan commands respect from other rich nations, but is an uneasy member of their clubs. Unlike Germany, it has never fully reckoned with its wartime past.
This strikes fear into some. The response of diehard revisionists, including a few close to the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is to look backwards. They talk of making Japan great again, inspired by a glorious, if often fictionalised, past. Some are pushing to change the constitution, written by the United States in 1947, in particular to make Japan a normal military power.
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