POST-WAR JAPANESE PACIFISM AS A TOOL FOR BUILDING INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE The end of World War II marked the beginning of a long and complicated process of reconstructing a collective identity for the Japanese people, a process that largely continues to this day. The best example of this is the presence of contrasting attitudes toward the events of the war. This article highlights issues related to pacifist values and their relevance to the collective identity of contemporary Japanese. With the collapse of the previous identity at the end of World War II, pacifism has become one of the key values for contemporary Japanese. Using the concept of “core values” developed by Jerzy Smolicz, this article examines postwar pacifist movements from the mid-1950s through the 21st century.