"Japan’s Aging Peace: Pacifism and Militarism in the Twenty-First Century" - Book Talk by Tom Le

This talk challenged the conventional “normal nation” narrative in international relations scholarship by explaining why Japan has not remilitarized despite the changing international context. By way of examining Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) recruitment limitations to peace monuments, the talk revealed how Japanese security policy is shaped by the interaction of ideas and the material world, such as demographics, gender norms, and technology.

Speaker Bio:

Tom Le is an associate professor of politics at Pomona College and a research associate at the PRIME Institute at Meiji Gakuin University. Le is the author of Japan’s Aging Peace: Pacifism and Militarism in the Twenty-First Century (Columbia University Press, June 2021). Le received a PhD in political science from the University of California, Irvine, and BAs in history and political science from the University of California, Davis.