Abstract
At first glance, especially to those whose knowledge of modern Japan is gleaned from mainstream media, “diversity” and “feminism” are not terms that are typically associated with the nation’s body politic. In this edited volume, Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow deftly unveils the shroud of “homogeneous Japan” (tanitsu minzoku) thereby revealing the heterogeneity of peoples, communities, and struggles that are typically associated with locations like Western Europe and the United States. At the same time, the specificities of the historical, social, political, and economic contexts that are described and analyzed in the collection suggest a complex and entrenched set of institutional arrangements and cultural demands and expectations that are foundational to contemporary Japanese society. The ideas in the book also disabuse readers of the notion of the passive and conformist Japanese (Asian) woman, and man, by showcasing those who have decided to challenge the status quo and, equally important, to amplify the voices and promote the transformative power of feminist activists and scholars and pro-feminist men, who are far ahead of the dominant discourses and whose work, it is hoped, will fundamentally influence the “conventional wisdom.”
The range of topics, thus kinds of women’s interests they represent, is impressive, from housewives becoming politicized and “house husbands” and a men’s movement struggling to redefine manhood and masculinity, to trafficked migrant women attempting to secure their rights and dignity, to lesbian women defining their own notion of citizenship. One significance of this collection is that the important topics, some of which have been discussed elsewhere, are understood and analyzed using intersectional feminist theoretical lenses. For example, in the discussion about the so-called comfort women of Korea, Yeong-ae Yamashita skillfully analyzes the history of the redress and justice movement for those women from a feminist, antinationalist framework. This discussion cogently argues for the real oppression of the chongshindae (countering particularly the mainstream Japanese perspective that the women “volunteered”) and illuminates the way in which women’s issues are co-opted by establishment and nonfeminist scholars and activists to serve a purpose other than justice for women, in this case, military sexual slavery and nationalism.
Two other important and interesting features of the collection are the mix of scholarly, activist, and personal voices and the inclusion of a historical background to problems discussed from the Japanese women’s movement. Yoko Junichiro’s discussion of the role of housewives in becoming politicized is especially compelling. What these housewives do is not unlike what Mullings (1996) called transformational work whereby African American women, as mothers and housewives, volunteer, organize, and otherwise become engaged in their communities to improve the conditions that negatively affect the lives of their families and other members of the community.
One glaring omission is a cogent discussion and analysis of the internationalization of the Japanese feminist movement. This omission points to the absence of the transnational struggle by Okinawan women to remove the obscenely disproportionate presence of U.S. military bases on their islands and the resulting violence against women and girls most especially led by Okinawan feminist Suzuyo Takazato. The Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence formed in response to the rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl in 1995 by three U.S. servicemen and inspired by their attendance at the 4th UN Conference on Women. Other important markers related to transnational feminism activities that should have been acknowledged is the collaborations between Japanese and non-Japanese feminist scholars and activists especially on issues of violence against women. These collaborations include the historic Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal in Tokyo in 2000, organized by the Violence Against Women in War Network and the late Yayori Matsui, a preeminent Japanese feminist activist, and the ongoing work of such scholars as U.S.-based activist Mieko Yoshihama working with Japan-based counterparts on domestic violence. Despite this shortcoming, Transforming Japan is a wonderful collection that provides evidence of diversity among its people and the “transgressors” who challenge the “conventional wisdom.”