Inglorious, illegal bastards : Japan's Self-Defense Force during the Cold War
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Inglorious, illegal bastards : Japan's Self-Defense Force during the Cold War
（Studies of the East Asian Institute）
Cornell University Press, 2022
- : hardcover
Available at 12 libraries
-
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies Library (GRIPS Library)
: hardcover392.1076||Sk01554481
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 305-320) and index
Contents of Works
- Introduction: the pursuit of legitimacy and military-society integration
- The Police Reserve Force and the U.S. Army
- Establishing the National Defense Academy and overcoming the past
- Becoming a "Beloved Self-Defense Force" in Hokkaido and beyond
- Public service/public relations during Anpo, the Olympics, and the Mishima Incident
- The return of the "Japanese Army" to Okinawa
- Epilogue: whither the SDF and the Cold War defense identity
Description and Table of Contents
Description
In Inglorious, Illegal Bastards, Aaron Herald Skabelund examines how the Self-Defense Force (SDF)-the post-World War II Japanese military-and specifically the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF), struggled for legitimacy in a society at best indifferent to them and often hostile to their very existence.
From the early iterations of the GSDF as the Police Reserve Force and the National Safety Force, through its establishment as the largest and most visible branch of the armed forces, the GSDF deployed an array of public outreach and public service initiatives, including off-base and on-base events, civil engineering projects, and natural disaster relief operations. Internally, the GSDF focused on indoctrination of its personnel to fashion a reconfigured patriotism and esprit de corps. These efforts to gain legitimacy achieved some success and influenced the public over time, but they did not just change society. They also transformed the force itself, as it assumed new priorities and traditions and contributed to the making of a Cold War defense identity, which came to be shared by wider society in Japan. As Inglorious, Illegal Bastards demonstrates, this identity endures today, several decades after the end of the Cold War.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Pursuit of Legitimacy and Military-Society Integration
1. The Police Reserve Force and the US Army
2. Establishing the National Defense Academy and Overcoming the Past
3. Becoming a "Beloved Self-Defense Force" in Hokkaido and Beyond
4. Public Service/Public Relations during Anpo, the Olympics, and the Mishima Incident
5. The Return of the "Japanese Army" to Okinawa
Epilogue: Whither the SDF and the Cold War Defense Identity?
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