To the best of my knowledge, Japan was not allowed to rearm after WWII. According to Wikipedia, they did establish a defense force (the Jieitai… not Jedi…) which was somewhere between a police force and a national guard.
But in nearly every sci-fi/action movie I’ve seen out of Japan (in particular, the Godzilla franchise and any Anime set “in the near future”) there’s a fully functioning military attacking with nuclear arms. Why is this? Are film-makers trying to get around history and support a nationalistic image? If Godzilla really attacked would Japan have a military force to suppress it? Are there any films where Japan had to ask the U.S. for help because it has no military?
What’s the straight dope on the Japanese military in film?