Gender, Attitudes Toward War, and Masculinities in Japan

Previous studies have argued that masculinity is linked to war. We conducted a web-based survey to examine relationships between gender, attitudes toward war, and masculinities within a sample of Japanese adults of both sexes ( N = 366). Our results indicated that while men were more likely than women to accept war, the relationship between attitudes toward war and masculinities was inconclusive. Moreover, the results suggested that favorable attitudes toward war among men could be attenuated by interpersonal orientations. Based on our findings, we recommend a reexamination of attitudes toward war within the Japanese population.