Monthly Archives: Sep 2015

Chūkaku-ha activists arrested for “confining man for five days”

Posted on Sep 30, 2015 by William Andrews

On May 7th the security police were, as always, watching Zenshinsha, the headquarters of the far-left political group commonly known as Chūkaku-ha. At around 3pm a man appeared on the fifth floor roof and attempted to climb down using the … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Police raid headquarters of far-left faction Kakurōkyō over security bills protest arrests

Posted on Sep 24, 2015 by William Andrews

Police have raided headquarters of far-left Japanese Marxist faction Kakurōkyō. Some 50 officers descended this morning on the Kakurōkyō (Revolutionary Workers) base, known as Gendaisha, in Suginami ward, west Tokyo. As we have seen with previous raids on the Chūkaku-ha … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Ultra-nationalist anger at security bills protests manifests as “cute” moe character

Posted on Sep 21, 2015 by William Andrews

As I wrote earlier this year, there is a mini online community in Japan that exists seemingly solely to revel in the subculture of Japanese New Left moe (moé). Users like @honoka51934835, @gabageba07, @samusamu1002 @negi1919 fill their Twitter feeds with … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Changing Shape of Protest in Japan

Posted on Sep 5, 2015 by William Andrews

A self-professed nerd. A tweeting journalist. Good-looking youngsters. And a celebrated academic. Together they are all changing the cosmetic and style of Japanese protest. In an interview published in English by Ignition IT engineer Fukuyuki Murakami declares that he has … Continue reading →

Posted in Essays | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Buddhist monks invoke gods and the dead to protest Japanese government

Posted on Sep 1, 2015 by William Andrews

A Buddhist monk group has formed to call on the dead and the gods to pass judgment on Shinzo Abe and his government’s nuclear and militarist policies. Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment