Dear SSJ Forum Community,

I proud to announce the publication of the first full-length book in
English on the Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces, in the form of a 400
-page edited volume. This book covers the history of the GSDF, beginning
in 1945 and continuing to the present, plus chapters focusing on the
contemporary force structure of the GSDF, civilian control, disaster
relief, public opinion and the allergy myth, and several appendices on
force structure, insignias, unit ribbons and patches.

Here is the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Ground-Self-Defense-Force-Legitimacy/dp/1137565314/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me=

Book description: Based on extensive Japanese-language materials, this
book is the first to examine the development of Japan’s Ground Self-
Defense Force. It addresses: how the GSDF was able to emerge as the
post-war successor of the Imperial Japanese Army despite Japan’s anti-
militarist constitution; how the GSDF, despite the public skepticism and
even hostility that greeted its creation, built domestic and
international legitimacy; and how the GSDF has responded to changes in
international and domestic environments. This path-breaking study of the
world’s third-largest-economic power’s ground army is timely for two
reasons. First, the resurgence of tensions in Northeast Asia over
territorial disputes, and the emphasis recent Japanese governments have
placed on using the GSDF for defending Japan’s outlying islands is
driving media coverage and specialist interest in the GSDF. Second, the
March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami has focused
global attention on the GSDF as Japan’s lead disaster relief
organization. This highly informative and thoroughly researched book
provides insight for policy makers and academics interested in Japanese
foreign and defense policies.

Best Regards,

Paul Midford
Professor, Director, NTNU Japan Program
Department of Sociology and Political Science Norwegian University for
Science & Technology (NTNU)