Monthly Archives: Aug 2014

August 30th, 1974: The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries headquarters bombing

Posted on Aug 30, 2014 by William Andrews

Today is the fortieth anniversary of a shocking but remarkably little-known incident and the most fatal of its kind until the Aum sarin subway attack in 1995. On August 30th, 1974, the headquarters of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries were devastated by … Continue reading →

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Updates on the Free Fumiaki Hoshino Campaign

Posted on Aug 21, 2014 by William Andrews

There have been some updates on the campaign to free Fumiaki Hoshino from his decades behind bars. Hoshino was a Chūkaku-ha activist who is currently serving a full life sentence for his alleged part in the death of a riot … Continue reading →

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Katsudōka cosplay at Comiket 86

Posted on Aug 19, 2014 by William Andrews

While browsing images of the cosplay at the biannual Comiket event in Tokyo last weekend, I came across something rather curious. Among the usual suspects of scantily-clad girls and iconic characters from the worlds of anime and manga, a solitary … Continue reading →

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August 15th, Yasukuni Shrine

Posted on Aug 15, 2014 by William Andrews

You know it’s August 15th when as soon as you pass through the ticket barriers at Kudanshita Station on the Tokyo Metro — while still underground inside the station — you see a member of the riot police on duty. … Continue reading →

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A Short History of Kakukyōdō (Japan Revolutionary Communist League) and its Schisms

Posted on Aug 10, 2014 by William Andrews

Any attempt to learn about the New Left or student movement in Japan immediately runs into trouble unless you can get your head around the complex skein of factions and their various genealogical branches. One major “family” in the pantheon … Continue reading →

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