Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material / Elina Hankela -- Introduction -- The NPR in the Literature and Archives -- The JCP and the Domestic Context of the Creation of the NPR: 1945–1950 -- The International Context of the Creation of the NPR: 1945–1950 -- The Organisational Character of the NPR -- The Operational Aspects of the NPR -- The Evolution of the NPR -- Conclusion -- I The ‘Constabulary Letter’, 2 October 1945 -- II Yoshida to MacArthur, Letter on Police Reform/Recentralisation, 6 August 1949 -- III Macarthur to Yoshida, Letter Authorising the Creation of the npr, 8 July 1950 -- IV Stalin’s New Year’s Message to the Japanese People, 31 December 1951 -- V Japanese Policy Document: ‘Initial Steps for Re-armament Program’, 3 February 1951 -- Bibliography -- Index.

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Based upon years of research undertaken in the US Occupation archives, this book provides a history of Japan’s National Police Reserve (NPR), the precursor of today’s Ground Self Defense Force (GSDF). It is the first ever comprehensive and exclusively focused history of the force in any language. The book examines the domestic and international origins of the force, the American constabulary model upon which it was based, the NPR's character and operation, and its evolution into the GSDF. This volume provides numerous insights and fresh perspectives on the character of the NPR, the origins of the SDF, the US Occupation of Japan and Cold War era US-Japan relations.