2021 Volume 72 Issue 3 Pages 258-275
This article examines the militarization of Japanese local communities during the period of high economic growth（the late 1950s-1960s）with particular focus on Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture. In Komatsu City, the airfield was first developed by the Japanese imperial navy during wartime. The article first demonstrates in what way the cityʼs development has been closely associated with the war economy and industry. After WWII, the political and business leaders made much effort to invite the air-SDF to set up a new airbase in Komatsu City. However, a great number of people opposed the local governmentʼs plan.
Nonetheless, the Komatsu National Defense Exhibition, which was held in 1962 to celebrate the opening of the air-SDF base, eventually drew an audience of over 500,000. The exhibition demonstrated a new local identity by highlighting the advanced technologies of air forces. Additionally, it reinterpreted weaponry in terms of consumer culture. In other words, the SDFʼs weapons, vehicles, and firearms were demonstrated in terms of “advanced technologies” rather than killing machines. This article examines how the exhibition successfully mobilized people to accept the air SDF base through the articulation of discourses on military, local development, and consumerism during the time of high economic growth.
