Abstract: In September 2013, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe first proposed “positive pacifism based on international coordination doctrine” and included it in the 2013 National Security Strategy Document. In December 2022, Japan released a new version of National Security Strategy, and “positive pacifism” is still placed in an important position. Most of the existing academic research results believe that “positive pacifism” is the foreign policy of the second Abe administration, and they do not elevate it to the level of national strategy. On the basis of combing the context and definition of Japans “positive pacifism”, this paper discusses why “positive pacifism” has changed from foreign policy to national strategy from three aspects: national interests, strategic goals and policy paths. The paper analyzes the logic of Japans national strategy of “positive pacifism” by using three factors in the framework of neoclassical realism: system stimulus, leader image and strategic culture.

Key words: “positive pacifism”, Japans national strategy, Japans foreign policy, Abe administration