Japan and Germany have been the “Reluctant Warriors” among postwar democracies, limited in part by their “peace constitutions” and a significant subculture of antimilitarist sentiment. The first part of this talk will describe Japan’s earlier postwar development as a reluctant warrior under its “peace constitution” but also as a strategic player in the U.S.-Japan alliance. Former Prime Minister Abe's policies and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia brought about major recent changes under Prime Minister Kishida and now Prime Minister Takaichi. Following this, I will compare the similarities and differences between Japan and Germany, how far each has come despite the limitations of their peace constitutions, but in what ways their trajectories in the postwar have been somewhat similar but also in many ways quite different, and why?
