The Changing Postwar International Legal Regime:The Role Played by Japan (International Law in Japanese Perspective, V. 8)

In view of the practices of the Second World War, international society could no longer be under the principles of traditional international law. The United Nations was conceived to preserve peace through the execution of "no use of force". To meet the reality of wartime collaboration in each region, it adopted self-defense as the basis for individual action. The postwar international legal order has been realized through self-defense as an intermediate function between the individual and collective, as provided under article 51 of the UN Charter.Japan recovered her independence by concluding a Security Treaty with the United States based on the right of self-defense. Even after the conclusion of the Cold War, they have chosen to strengthen the Treaty rather than give effect to Japan's "Peace Constitution". Other states are also caught up in the same current, taking actions not precluded by the UN Charter. Whatever regime should follow the present one, it will draw more on the humanity principle based on "freedom of conscience".This work should be read by anyone interested in the development of international law and its influence on international relations.