The Yoshida Doctrine, which emerged under former prime minister Shigeru Yoshida as an interim grand strategy in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat in the World War II, has outlived its usefulness.
It was designed to drive the country’s economic recovery and redevelopment and was anchored on two principles: first, the continuation of a US military presence to guarantee national security; second, the rejection of a resource-consuming and politically destabilising military build-up.
