Abstract:
The Self-Defense Force—Japan’s post-World War II military—and 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. This talk focused on the GSDF and its efforts, in the form of natural disaster relief operations, civil engineering projects, and support for the events such as the Sapporo Snow Festival, for greater acceptance during the Cold War.
Biography:
Aaron Skabelund is Associate Professor of History at Brigham Young University. He is also the author of Empire of Dogs: Canines, Japan, and the Making of the Modern Imperial World (Cornell UP, 2011).