Nine Lives?: The Politics of Constitutional Reform in Japan

This study examines why Article Nine, the famous peace clause renouncing the possession and use of force for settling international disputes, has survived without amendment since U.S. occupation forces imposed it on the defeated citizens of postwar Japan. The constitution, especially Article Nine, has been the persistent object of intense debate, and recently public opinion has shifted in favor of revision. The study also examines why the debate has returned to the political agenda with such force in recent years, and how revision may affect Japanese domestic politics and foreign policy.
          
          Published by East-West Center. Available exclusively from ISEAS for distribution in Asia.