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Nambara Shigeru (1889–1974): how a Japanese liberal conceptualized eternal peace, 1918–1951

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2018

Takashi Inoguchi
Takashi Inoguchi*
Affiliation:
Oberlin University, Tokyo, Japan
*
Corresponding author. Takashi Inoguchi, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Nambara Shigeru was a rara avis of Japanese liberal academics at hard times in that he survived difficult times without being punished by the oppressive government in the pre-war Japan and the occupation authorities in the immediate post-war Japan. He specialized in Western political philosophy especially in Immanuel Kant and Johann Gottlieb Fichte, known as proponents of German idealism and nationalism. His magnum opus was published, without being punished, in 1944, arguing that the Nazi politics was totally against the Western political tradition. In 1945–46, he made clear his opposition to the draft new Constitution in which the emperor be symbolic and the armed forces be abolished. In 1949–1950, he made clear his view that Japan, once Japan admitted to the United Nations, what would become Japanese Self-Defense Forces should donate portions to what would become United Nations Peace Keeping Operations. On the basis of his writings in the war period and the occupation period, comparisons of his positions with Roger Scruton, Vladislav Surkov, Yanaihara Tadao, Akamatsu Kaname, Nitobe Inazo, and Yanagida Kunio on such concepts as democracy promotion, national self-determination, peace keeping are attempted to see the extent to which the pent-up Wilsonian moment burst in the immediate post-war period.

Keywords

Nambara Shigeruliberal academicseternal peacedemocracy promotionnational self-determinationpeace keepingWilsonian moment
Type
Special Section, The Wilsonian Moment: Japan, 1912–1952 (Edited by Takashi Inoguchi)
Information
Japanese Journal of Political Science , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , December 2018 , pp. 612 - 621
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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Footnotes

*An earlier paper was presented at the Japan Association of International Relations Annual Convention 2016 on 14 October 2016, and the Empirical Political Science Research Conference, sponsored by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research [KAKENHI] (B) [Grant No. 26285029], held at the International House of Japan, 28 October 2016, the comments then received as well as those made by special issue reviewers are gratefully acknowledged.

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