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” organizations 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-collarization of Japan’s male workforce continued apace, and high-speed economic growth allowed social norms emphasizing full-time housewifery to strengthen, many of these new movements were organized in significant part by housewives in new exurban housing developments, as part of so-called “residents’ movements” (jumin undō). In this talk, I 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. I argue that because the wages of “anti-politics” were so high, this approach became hegemonic in Japanese political organizing, such that many movements may continue to feel compelled to embrace it even when they seek more overtly “political” objectives.

 

Nick Kapur received his Ph.D. in Japanese history from Harvard University, working under Akira Iriye ad Andrew Gordon, and is presently Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University’s Camden campus, where he teaches Japanese and East Asian history. His research interests focus on modern Japan and US-Japan relations, broadly conceived. 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 recently published research 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. Most recently, he has been involved in the founding of the Modern Japan History Association.

 

Organized by the Centre for the Study of Global Japan, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto.