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IN-PERSON: Institutes Boardroom, Coombs Extension Building, 8 Fellows Road, ACTON, ACT 2601

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The politics of non-politics in post-1960s Japan

In the late 1960s, a new style of 'non-political' social movement emerged in Japan. Despite aiming at social reforms, these movements—including environmental, consumer protection, and local improvement movements—embraced a rhetoric of 'non-politics', disclaiming 'ideology' in exchange for an exclusive focus on 'issues'. These paradoxically 'non-political' organisations achieved great success in the political arena, and by declaring that 'anyone can join', these movements achieved a significant number of policy goals. As the white-collarisation of Japan’s male workforce continued apace, and high-speed economic growth allowed social norms emphasising full-time housewifery to strengthen, many of these new movements were organised in significant part by housewives in new exurban housing developments, as part of so-called “residents’ movements” (jumin undō).

In this talk, Associate Professor Nick Kapur will trace the history of Japan’s 'non-political' political activism from the late 1960s to the present, including recent movements against nuclear power plants and the 2015 Security Bill. He argues that because the wages of 'anti-politics' were so high, this approach became hegemonic in Japanese political organising, such that many movements may continue to feel compelled to embrace it even when they seek more overtly 'political' objectives.

Speaker

Nick Kapur is Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University’s Camden campus, where he teaches Japanese and East Asian history. He received his PhD in Japanese history from Harvard University, working under Akira Iriye ad Andrew Gordon. His book Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo (Harvard University Press, 2018) details enduring transformations in Japanese politics, culture, and society, as well as US-Japan alliance diplomacy and the Cold War international system, that unfolded in the aftermath of the massive 1960 protests against the US-Japan Security Treaty. In addition, he has published articles on US-Japan relations during the John F Kennedy administration, the 1968 centennial celebrations of Japan’s Meiji Restoration, and Japan’s postwar student movement, and currently has articles at various stages of the publication process examining an attempted coup d’etat in Japan in 1961, a unique form of Japanese protest march called the 'snake dance', and resistance among kamikaze pilots during World War II. In recent years, he has been significantly involved in the founding of the newly established Modern Japan History Association.

Image - Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy (SEALD) demonstration, Tokyo, Japan November 1955 (supplied by Nick Kapur)

Light refreshments provided at 12.50pm AEST.

Contact the ANU Japan Institute Seminar Series Convener: Dr Andrew Levidis at andrew.levidis@anu.edu.au

The ANU Japan Institute Seminar Series is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

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