Papers
Contesting continuities between the Imperial Japanese Army and the Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces
In a recent work André Hertrich sought to highlight the continuities between the pre 1945 imperial Japanese army (IJA) and the post 1954 Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (GSDF). This contention is often used by scholars and rival northeast Asian states which suffered due to Japanese aggression to criticise Japanese defence policy. This topic and interconnected issues related to Japanese defence are gaining in importance due to the recent deployment of the Maritime Self Defence forces to east Africa in an anti piracy role and the possibility of the revision of Japan’s pacifist postwar constitution in 2010.
In his work Hertrich stresses what he sees as the continuities in the military mindset and virtues valued in the IJA and GSDF and argues that due it its participation in disaster relief and peace keeping operations the GSDF is a modern military force. This paper will question these two arguments through reference to the history of the GSDF with particular emphasis being paid to the organisations created in the 1950s which bridged the gap between the IJA and GSDF. Most significant of these was the National Police Reserve (NPR), a paramilitary police force created to ensure Japan’s internal security during the Korean War. This organisation evolved into the GSDF and formed the crucible in which the main aspects of the organisational character and identity of the GSDF were forged. These aspects included the elements which Hertrich uses to argue that continuities exist between the GSDF and IJA. This paper will argue that although minor superficial continuities do exist between the IJA and GSDF they are far outweighed by the differences between the two instituted during the existence of the NPR.
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