The Contemporary Implications of Examining the Issue of Draft Evasion in Japan

Abstract

This report suggests that reexamining draft evasion in the past carries some meaning for the present. For example, there is a pitfall in characterizing conscience-driven draft evasions based on religion or ideology as superior to draft evasion based on a fear of death. Draft evasion was one of the concealed problems in the postwar period. During the 15-year war, draft evaders were viewed as unpatriotic cowards who treasured their lives when the number of war causalities increased. In fact, it was the individual “egoism” of these evaders that the totalitarian state wished to eliminate. The issue of draft evasion still exists today as a clue to the investigation of the “Conflict between the individual and the nation” in the context of human lives.