Japan and Germany have been the “Reluctant Warriors” among postwar democracies, limited 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” including the changes brought about by Prime Ministers Koizumi and Abe. Then how the invasion of Ukraine by Russia brought about the recent changes under Prime Minister Kishida. 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? Ellis S. Krauss (PhD, Stanford University) is Professor Emeritus at the School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS), UCSD. The author of 9 books and over 80 articles about Japanese politics and about U.S.-Japan relations, most recently a co-authored book Reluctant Warriors: Germany, Japan and their U.S. Alliance Dilemma (Brookings Institution Press, 2019) comparing the two countries' military intervention policies after the Cold War under their "Peace Constitutions." He and his co-authors are currently revising an article updating the book since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He is also co-author of a book on comparative elections, political parties, and committee assignments Party Personnel Strategies: Electoral Systems and Parliamentary Committee Assignments (Oxford University Press, 2021). In 2018 he received the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class with Gold Leaves and Neck Ribbon from the Emperor and government of Japan for his professional work.

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