Japan in the World

Abstract

Japanese public opinion on foreign and defense policy warrants longitudinal analysis as an extreme case of change and lack of interest in international diplomatic and military activism. Data for the post-Occupation period through 1984 are examined for the effects of age, generation, and situation; more recent aggregate poll data are used to check for recent changes. Little support appears for strong, ongoing shifts from international passivism to activism, alignment to equidistance, dependence to autonomy, military minimization to effort, or lack of guiding principles. Generational effects are very modest after the early 1970s; age-group differences have more continuing importance. Majority opinion is sceptical about the merits of departures from the status quo, buttressed by countervailing minorities that support opposed directions of change.