Farewell to Pacifism: Japan is rearming | DW Documentary

In 1945, under US occupation, the Japanese constitution was created. Toshiko Tanaka, then six years old, had survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. She hoped that this "peace constitution” would prevent wars in the future. But now, Japan is arming itself again.

After 1945, Japan was the only country in the world to commit itself to renouncing war in its constitution. But in the face of increasing dangers, 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.
Under conservative governments and in view of the increasing withdrawal of the once-protective USA, the Japanese armed forces have acquired weapons systems. These 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.
Asia is the key to the future. 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.

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