Reluctant Warriors No More? Japan and Germany Before and After Ukraine
Japan and Germany have been the “Reluctant Warriors” among postwar democracies, limited in part by their “peace constitutions” and a significant subculture of antimilitarist sentiment. The first part of this talk will describe Japan’s earlier postwar development as a reluctant warrior under its “peace constitution” but also as a strategic player in the U.S.-Japan alliance. Former Prime Minister Abe’s policies and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia brought about major recent changes under Prime Minister Kishida and now Prime Minister Takaichi. Following this, I will compare the similarities and differences between Japan and Germany, how far each has come despite the limitations of their peace constitutions, but in what ways their trajectories in the postwar have been somewhat similar but also in many ways quite different, and why?
Date: 12 March 2026, 17:00
Venue: St Antony's College, 62 Woodstock Road OX2 6JF
Venue Details: Pavilion Room, 4th Floor Gateway Building
Speaker: Professor Ellis Krauss (University of California San Diego)
Organising department: Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies
Organisers: Dr Yosuke Buchmeier (Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, University of Oxford), Professor Roger Goodman (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: administrator@nissan.ox.ac.uk
Part of: Nissan Institute Seminar in Japanese Studies
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Andrew Melling