Japan is constitutionally forbidden from participating in wars. There is no Japanese military.

To be fair, there are the Japan Self-Defense Forces, but those forces are only used for peacekeeping missions when deployed outside of Japan. Officially, the country has no military. 

Especially if you live in the United States, a country that spent between 1 and 1.4 trillion dollars on its military this year, this idea might seem really strange. Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution elaborates on the decision: 

ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. 

Italy has a similar clause in its constitution, but reserves the right to self defense in the event of an attack. You might be wondering how effective such a clause would be if Japan were ever attacked. Since World War II, shortly before the constitution was adopted, Japan has not gone to war or had the incentive to. 

That means for 65 years, Japan has proven that a military isn’t always necessary for settling international disputes. What’s interesting, though, is that Japan still allows other countries to have military bases on their soil. Japan is not unique in its lack of military. For the full list, check here.