Student Radicalism and the Formation of Postwar Japan

This book offers a timely and multifaceted reanalysis of student radicalism in postwar Japan. It considers how students actively engaged the early postwar debates over subjectivity, and how the emergence of a new generation of students in the mid-1950s influenced the nation’s embrace of the idea that ‘the postwar’ had ended. Attentive to the shifting spatial and temporal boundaries of ‘postwar Japan,’ it elucidates previously neglected histories of student and zainichi Korean activism and their interactions with the Japanese Communist Party. This book is a key read for scholars in the field of Japanese history, social movements and postcolonial studies, as well as the history of student radicalism.

About the Author

Kenji Hasegawa is an Associate Professor at Yokohama National University, Japan. He received his undergraduate degree from Keio University and doctoral degree in history from Stanford University. His research interest lies in modern history and prior publications include Rediscovering America: Japanese Perspectives on the American Century, co-edited with Peter Duus in 2011.