Post-war Japan as a Sea Power

Alessio Patalano is Lecturer in East Asian Warfare and Security at the Department of War Studies, King's College London, UK.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe currently confronts a threat China poses in the South China Sea. Abe’s ongoing task is to revise the postwar role of the Japanese military from a self-defense force to a traditional military establishment, especially the navy. Early in the 20th century, the Imperial Japanese Navy was one of the most formidable naval forces in the world, but few present-day readers are aware of the JMSDF, or Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. Patalano (King’s College London) seeks to enlighten the public about the Japanese effort to create a new naval force relying on civilian control but capitalizing on JMSDF’s imperial past. The author reveals how the military in Japan reinvented itself to meet the new realities of the postwar world. Although, as Patalano notes, elements in Japan kept those memories alive, it took a new breed of naval officers to integrate those traditions into the JMSDF. Patalano’s excellent study will not disappoint those interested in contemporary Japanese naval history. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries.

• Introduction: Japanese Sea Power: From Kaigun to KaijiChapter 1: Traditions and Ethos: The Emperor's NavyChapter 2: History and Memory: Creating the Imperial LegacyChapter 3: Legacy and Experience: Shaping the New NavyChapter 4: Ethos and Propaganda: A Century-old Navy with New Men and CapabilitiesChapter 5: Strategy and Policy: The "Sea Power" of the PacificChapter 6: Doctrine and Fleet: A Balanced ForceConclusions: The Recent Past and the Near FutureBibliographyIndex