1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Japan says goodbye to pacifism as it re-arms

52:04

This browser does not support the video element.

January 12, 2025

The Japanese constitution was drafted in 1945 under US occupation. Aiming for international peace, the state officially renounced the sovereign right of belligerence. But now, Japan is re-arming itself.

After 1945, Japan was the only country in the world to commit itself to renouncing war in its constitution. However, in the face of increasing threats, the island nation has now announced a rearmament program. By the end of this decade, Japan could become the third strongest military power in the world. The pacifism born of the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has given way to fear of aggressive neighbors like China, Russia and North Korea.  Japan's armed forces are acquiring weapons systems as the influence of once-protective US troops slowly dwindles. Weapons include amphibious vehicles, US F-35 fighter jets and two aircraft carriers. There is enough plutonium from civilian use in the country to produce up to a thousand nuclear warheads. Missile systems are also available. This documentary shows a new side of Japan and provides insight into the military changes that are taking place there - far from the war in Ukraine. Toshiko Tanaka, one of the last hibakusha, as the survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings are called, fears war once more.

Skip next section More from this show
Skip next section About the show

About the show

DocFilm

Exciting stories, a wide variety of topics, fascinating pictures: every day, half or three-quarters of an hour of carefully researched background reports from the worlds of politics, business, science, culture, nature, history, lifestyle and sport.

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW