The critical approach adopted in this study seeks to trace the gradual transformation of Japan into a 'normal' military state, the political forces supporting and opposing this transition, and the underlying values at the base of the critique of militarization. By meticulous analysis of Japanese primary and secondary materials the study shows how the intertwined issues of Japanese 'identity' and military 'normality' are at the centre of the tension between internal and external pressures on Japanese defence and security policies. With chapters on peace thought, the militarization and demilitarization of language as well as the 'hard' aspects of the Japanese military build-up in the 1980s and the response to the Gulf crisis in the 1990s, the study challenges many of the preconceived notions on Japanese defence and security policies and the policy making process in Japan.