"Rethinking Japanese Public Opinion and Security" argues that Japanese public opinion matters and has acted to prevent overseas military deployments involving combat while increasingly supportive of a more normal military establishment capable of autonomously defending Japanese territory.

Paul Midford is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Sociology and Director of the Japan Program at the Norwegian University for Science and Technology in Trondheim. His books include Japanese Public Opinion and the War on Terrorism: Implications for Japan's Security Strategy.