The second link is very educational but honestly hard to read. Not because of the difficulty of the subject matter, but because the "language of the left" looks so cliche and quaint to me that its like reading an article run through a ebonics tranlation script or perhaps in Victorian english or '49er prospector english... OK the truth is it just looks silly or even un-humane. The use of that sort of language describing the incident at Takushoku pretty much buries the human tragedy and rights aspects of the story. I wonder what Comrade Gavan McCormack is up to these days if he still blathers on like that.

(note to self, google exists and answered my question for me, its seems he's still a jackass)

The first article was much more interesting to read. I rather enjoyed the catch 22 problems of the intellectual left, the JCP hanging on to old style stalinism on the one hand and the gauchism folk on the other saying that thinkin fellas needed to get with the times. This is the inherant problem of "ideals" politics. Too bad he soils himself by cotinuing to use words like "masses" though. Overall an amazingly deep article with lots of little tidbits to followup on. Thanks for linking this one!

The McCormack article is best for a birds-eye view of the Japanese leftist student movement in English. It is one of the first articles I have ever seen to clearly explain the difference between Kakumaru and Chukaku-ha.

the asada article points on why japan missed on out an environmental movement, womens rights movement etc were fascinating. In fact the whole article is gold, gives essentially the other side of the story, it wasnt just japan inc & the uyoku that we can thank for the current climate of fear, but the JCP's mindset & the Red Army's bungling massacres. I have a clearer view of why people can look at Abe and not immediately think "Mr Potato Head meets Dubya with a dash of Adolf". Thanks for the link!

funny how one of the most insightful posts about japan on this blog is one of the least commented.. do readers of neomarxisme just want to read about ebi-chan & diss momus for mistaking promo-porn for revealing j-girl talk ? (admittedly the latter is a worthwhile or at least amusing exercise).

While you're on the topic, how about a few more pieces looking at the left (or whats er left of it) ? What with Mr Potato Head getting elected, we all officially want pre-emptive missile strikes on Nth Korea now, so how about looking at whats happening on the other side of the fence ? What do you say, Senor Marx ? Even if only for yr namesake's sake -how about some of the low-down on any interesting folks opposed to our glorious new vegetable overlord ?

funny how one of the most insightful posts about japan on this blog is one of the least commented..

Well, all I did was find the story, not write it. And people like to comment a lot more when they can prove me wrong.

While you're on the topic, how about a few more pieces looking at the left (or whats er left of it) ?

I think one of the points of the Asada piece is that the Japanese Left is totally dead - from a structural perspective. The main opposition party is only 1/2 progressive, and even if they won, there is no real assurance that the country would swing back leftwards.

But let's be really honest: Japan is not a two-party democracy, nor even really a democracy. There is one-party, which is the government, and not even the main powerholders when compared to the bureaucracy.

The Left crushed itself but the U.S. had a huge hand in making sure they never became eligible for actually talking control. Then you have the mob/uyoku who work side-by-side with the LDP to enforce order extra-legally.

The saddest part of the system is that clearly a large percent of Japanese agree with the fairly-moderate-left positions of the JCP: lower consumption taxes, protection of article 9, no to yasukuni, etc. But the JCP is not a viable mainstream party for the historical reasons Asada mentions.

There is also a failure of the left in that the 60s New Left embraced hard-line communism and not "liberal democracy" - and not even soft versions of their theoretical frameworks have a chance of being adopted into the monopoly capitalism of Japan.

The only political questions worth asking are "which kind of conservatism with Japan embrace?": a nativist anti-American rightism or the standard U.S.-protectorate line?

Politics in Japan are not ideological or theoretical. They have nothing to do with the will of the people. They are a bunch of power plays removed from the public and little else. The kids in red helmets back in the 60s look cool, but did nothing, and in retrospect, had 0% of doing anything. The system is set.

advanced feudalism. perfected even.

matt: did you even read those two articles?

matt: The lack of comments might be explained by the lack of polemic, within the article.

Nice history lesson, though. Makes me wish more things of this nature were showcased by the internet's swelling population of Caucasian Japanese scholars, especially considering the tendency to "stop-the-presses" in deference towards the meretricious contents of cornerstone fashion magazines.

(I mean - hey, like, didja know that sex sells?)

matt: The lack of comments might be explained by the lack of polemic, within the article.

You say polemic like it's a bad thing. But no, one of the interview's strongest points is how calm and focused it is.

Makes me wish more things of this nature were showcased by the internet's swelling population of Caucasian Japanese scholars, especially considering the tendency to "stop-the-presses" in deference towards the meretricious contents of cornerstone fashion magazines.

Hey, me too, but it's not like there are an army of Asada Akiras out there. And if you want to understand Japan right now, things are CC (Can Cam) and not KK (Karatani Kojin) - as much as I'd like it to be opposite! I'd rather get my head around it than ignore it completely.

Chris_B: i haven't had the time to read the McCormack article yet. When i have a little more free time i look forward to digging in.

btw please don't think i'm just bitching about the quality of discussion here, i appreciate the media dissection as much as the next reader, just that in my personal Japan knowledge-verse i've spent much more time looking at the right, and know little about the left, hence it completed a gap in what i know. Maybe everyone else here has a better grasp of both sides of japanese politics than me, but hey, i really appreciated the info.

Senor Marx: Thanks for the rundown. Kind of a pessimistic outlook though, don't you think ? If 2 non-LDP PM's can sneak through before, why not again ? As you say, a large proportion of the population support positions the LDP is unlikely to take. And while Koizumi could pull rabbits out of hats on demand, Abe is unlikely to be able to manage the same dramatic trickery, lacking as he is in the charisma department. (i'm almost missing those creepy stage-whispered Koizumi press conferences already)

i'm certainly not expecting a massive swing to the left, but i'm actually quite optimistic that a couple of years under a really right wing regime will galvanise whatever opposition is left.

A coalition under Mizuho Fukushima is something i'd personally like to see, but i'm not holding my breath..

I'm still reading the two articles so I haven't commented, but so far the Asada Akira article is awesome. Thanks so much for these. Marxy, did those files I sent you open? Other people had problems with them. Let me know.

There has also been some repression in Osaka over the last two days, five of the most important squatter/homeless activists in the city have been arrested and it looks like the city may be preparing for a series of evictions in preparation for an upcoming economic summit. Things are tough down here right now.

If 2 non-LDP PM's can sneak through before, why not again ?

What did they accomplish? Nothing. And Hosokawa was more of an ex-LDP reformer than a "Leftist."

Marxy, did those files I sent you open? Other people had problems with them.

I couldn't figure out what the file format was. I would love to get those again.