While it can’t be denied that nationalism is on the rise in Japan, this phenomenon should be fully understood. However, Japanese people do not support the nationalist discourse that politicians put forward to legitimate the reform of the post-war system and to promote Japan on the international scene. Furthermore, the nationalist stance consists of variegated opinions about strategic choices for Japan’s future. Promoted by the government, the current Japanese nationalism was nurtured by the crisis of the 1990s and the need to cope with the new international paradigm after the cold war.