Yoshida Doctrine and Silent Rearmament

Yoneyuki Sugita

The Yoshida Doctrine has been interpreted as a pillar of post-World War II Japanese foreign and security policy. This presentation will address a research question: What were the consequences of the Yoshida Doctrine? If military development was substantially downplayed in favor of economic growth, how did Japan become a leading military power as it is now? Under constant pressure to rearm, facing repeated demands for an increase in expenditure on defense, Japan slowly but steadily expanded its defense budget so as not to be abandoned by the United States. As a result, an unexpected consequence of the Yoshida Doctrine was that Japan’s steady militarization would eventually make it one of the world’s leading military powers, while attracting little negative attention from the Western nations.

Introduction

Research Questions: What were the consequences of the Yoshida Doctrine? If military development was substantially downplayed in favor of economic growth, how did Japan become a leading military power as it is now?

Hypothesis: An unexpected consequence of the Yoshida Doctrine was that Japan’s steady militarization would eventually make it one of the world’s leading military powers, while attracting little or no negative attention from the Western nations.

Yoshida Doctrine

*Constrained Rearmament

*Economic Development

Japan’s Responses

*Military Expenditure

*Military Expenditure / GDP

Concerns in the World

*Fukuda Doctrine

*Rise of China / India / South Korea