Description
Book SynopsisIn Inglorious, Illegal Bastards, Aaron Herald Skabelund examines how the Self-Defense Force (SDF)the postWorld War II Japanese militaryand specifically the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF), struggled for legitimacy in a society at best indifferent to them and often hostile to their very existence.
From the early iterations of the GSDF as the Police Reserve Force and the National Safety Force, through its establishment as the largest and most visible branch of the armed forces, the GSDF deployed an array of public outreach and public service initiatives, including off-base and on-base events, civil engineering projects, and natural disaster relief operations. Internally, the GSDF focused on indoctrination of its personnel to fashion a reconfigured patriotism and esprit de corps. These efforts to gain legitimacy achieved some success and influenced the public over time, but they did not just change society. They also transformed the force itself, as i
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Pursuit of Legitimacy and Military-Society Integration
1. The Police Reserve Force and the US Army
2. Establishing the National Defense Academy and Overcoming the Past
3. Becoming a "Beloved Self-Defense Force" in Hokkaido and Beyond
4. Public Service/Public Relations during Anpo, the Olympics, and the Mishima Incident
5. The Return of the "Japanese Army" to Okinawa
Epilogue: Whither the SDF and the Cold War Defense Identity?
