A sociological approach to Japan’s war frames and security threats

Abstract

The sociology of war has thus far focused on the history of past wars, neglecting ongoing evolution over social attitudes toward the risk of potential wars. In contrast, international relations scholars tend to neglect the legacy of past wars in the analysis of the social reception of security discourses. To address these lacunas, this article draws on the notion of war frames and focuses its analysis on the critical voices of the securitization process. Through interviews with leftwing politicians and intellectuals conducted after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as well as polls and media analysis along with ethnographic observation in the southern part of Okinawa, this article explains why Japan’s defence budget has dramatically increased while attachment to ‘pacifism’ remains strong. This apparent contradiction can be partly understood as a response to Russia’s aggression, which triggered Japanese people’s fear of a conflict over Taiwan and Okinawa, thus challenging the pacifist posture that has prevailed in Japan since the end of World War II. Adopting a sociological perspective, this article shifts the focus from political elites and security experts to opposition parties, intellectuals and civil society.