Confucianism, Kant, and the Pacifist Tradition in the Constitution of Japan

The debate over Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan is a practical case in the ethics of war and peace. Critics of the Constitution claim that its pacifist sentiment was completely foreign to Japanese culture before 1947, when the Constitution came into effect. However, other scholars argue that pacifist ideas were part of Japanese culture long before 1947. This chapter focuses on the philosophical side of the pacifist tradition in the Constitution (in short, “the Japanese pacifist tradition”), with two main aims. First, the chapter aims to show that instead of debating whether the Constitution is completely foreign to Japan, we should discuss the long-term dialogues and interactions between the Japanese pacifist tradition and philosophical theories outside Japan. On this front, the chapter discusses in detail two overseas philosophical theories: Kant’s philosophy of perpetual peace and Confucianism. The chapter’s second aim is to demonstrate that the Japanese pacifist tradition has an anti-war focus. The chapter explains why this conclusion implies that the Japanese pacifist tradition can be considered a close relative of or even a pioneer in contingent pacifism, a new understanding of pacifism from within the just war tradition. This finding also explains why individual self-defense is morally permissible in the Japanese pacifist tradition.