The Japanese constitution, introduced during the U.S. occupation at the end of World War II, is the oldest unamended constitution in the world. It is best known for Article 9 in which Japan renounces the right to wage war and maintain armed forces. Debate over changes to Article 9 has been ongoing for over 70 years. This lecture will present the politics surrounding the debate over constitutional revision and position it within the changing security context in East Asia.

Speaker: Dr. Nadejda Bontcheva-Loyaga is an adjunct professor in the Department of Politics and Economics at Calvin University. She obtained her PhD from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, Japan, where she focused on civil-military relations and security studies.