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Paper short abstract

I argue that communities in regional Japan are "factionalized" rather than "fragmented." Tatsuno's case study reveals resilient, intra-communal factionalism. This re-politicizes the local by highlighting the power dynamics and structural conflicts that define social organization.

Paper long abstract

Much research on Japan since the 1980s has focused on dismantling the perceived homogeneity of Japanese society. This trend continues in current scholarship on regional Japan, which has pivoted toward a postmodern focus on "fragmentation." While this shift highlights the heterogeneity of local communities in the "post-growth" countryside, it relies heavily on individual psychology and experiences. In doing so, it depoliticizes the local sphere, treating the breakdown of community as a passive byproduct of decline rather than a manifestation of active social organization.

To better account for these politics, I propose viewing "fragmentation" as factionalism. I illustrate this through a paradox in the Tatsuno district in Tatsuno City, Hyogo Prefecture. In 2019, the district was named an "Important Preservation District of Historic Buildings." Following this, the municipal authorities introduced a community development, or machizukuri, policy that aimed to bring together the district’s many separate machizukuri groups under one organization, Tatsuno Mirai-sha. Instead of encouraging cooperation, this push for "unification" led to strong factionalism among local stakeholders.

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, I argue that what is perceived as postmodern fragmentation is, in fact, a continuation of intra-communal social divisions and their politics. Contemporary machizukuri initiatives, often led by urban-rural migrants, do not encounter a "fragmented" public. Instead, they are absorbed into, or even actively create, competitive political relationships. I contend that heterogeneity is not necessarily a casualty of contemporary demographic changes, but a long-standing characteristic of the Japanese rural community, rooted in its factional dynamics. By reframing "fragmentation" as "factionalism," this paper shifts the anthropological focus away from the social fragmentation and the "lonely individual" of postmodernity and back toward the power dynamics and structural conflicts that constitute social life in regional Japan. In doing so, it provides an alternative framework for understanding the political nature of social organizations that shape communities in regional Japan.

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Paper short abstract

The paper examines how far Japanese right-wing “peripheral parties” have resorted to conspiracy and anti-science claims in their operations from 2020 onwards. It contributes to scholarship on the symbiosis between right-leaning orientation and use of such narratives from a sociological perspective.

Paper long abstract

Post-COVID-19 Japan faces a critical juncture brought forward by a deteriorating regional presence, a weakened economy and questions about domestic order linked to the inflow of foreign workers and tourists into the country, all of which have contributed to producing a climate of societal anxiety and distrust. A visible consequence of this state of affairs has been the rise of conspiracy theories (CTs), misinformation and disinformation, and challenges to epistemic authority in Japan.

The recent emergence of and rapidly growing support for a fringe populist far-right political party, Sanseitō, not only surprised the leading Liberal Democratic Party, which had dominated Japan’s national politics for most of the period since the end of the Asia-Pacific War in 1945, but it also symbolised the risk of crumbling stability and democratic values in contemporary Japan. A skilful utilisation of conspiratorial and anti-science claims was crucial to Sanseitō’s success. Yet, Sanseitō is far from the only actor mobilising such narratives in its political operations.

Based on online ethnographic, documentary and interview materials, this paper examines how far Japanese right-wing “peripheral parties” (Kefford 2017) have resorted to conspiracy theories and anti-science narratives in their operations from 2020 to the present day, drawing on cases of selected actors, such as Saisei no Michi (The Path to Rebirth), Kōfukujitsugentō (Happiness Realisation Party), Shimingatsukuru seiji no kai (Mintsuku), Tsubasa no tō, and Nihon seishinkai (Japan Spirit Society). As evidenced by a large-scale anti-vaccination campaign in July 2024 that invoked the “protecting people from the World Health Organization” rhetoric, the idea is widely supported, appropriated, and reproduced among the population that may consume narratives from like-minded political organisations and peripheral parties.

Hence, this paper examines the growing social impact of the production and consumption of conspiratorial claims among the Japanese population, drawing on the circulation of such claims in communication of peripheral political actors who are often active in local political life and in greater proximity to citizens. Furthermore, the paper contributes to recent scholarship on the symbiosis between right-leaning political orientation and the use of conspiracy theories and anti-science narratives from a sociological perspective.

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Paper short abstract

Based on ethnographic research with Kyoto-based youth activists, this paper examines how Japanese youth engage with the pro-Palestine movement through digital platforms and localized protest practices, revealing new forms of political participation across online and offline spaces.

Paper long abstract

In recent years, Japanese youth have become increasingly visible in transnational solidarity movements, particularly in response to the Israel–Palestine conflict. While earlier waves of student activism in Japan—such as the 1960s ANPO protests or the 2015 SEALDs movement—were largely oriented toward domestic political issues, contemporary mobilization is increasingly shaped by global media flows and platform-mediated forms of engagement. This paper examines how Japanese youth activists in Kyoto participate in the pro-Palestine movement, and what this engagement reveals about the changing nature of youth political participation in Japan.

Drawing on qualitative ethnographic research conducted between 2024 and 2025, the study combines participant observation, semi-structured interviews with youth aged 15–34, and digital ethnography of Instagram and X (Twitter). The empirical focus is on Kyoto-based youth initiatives and networks, including Kyoto University Volunteers Association in Solidarity with the Palestinian People (KUVASP), Ritsumeikan University Students for Palestine (RS Palestine), Kyoto Youth Movement for Change (KYMC), and the Kyoto Youth Peace Program. These groups operate through flexible coalitions rather than formal student unions, reflecting broader transformations in the organizational ecology of youth activism in Japan.

The paper explores how global political grievances are translated into locally meaningful narratives, practices, and affective registers within the Kyoto context. Particular attention is paid to how digital platforms shape protest visibility, narrative framing, and transnational connectivity, while simultaneously constraining activism through algorithmic mediation, platform norms, and audience management. Online engagement—especially via Instagram—functions as a key site for political learning, moral alignment, and mobilization, complementing offline practices such as demonstrations, teach-ins, and public marches.

The analysis argues that contemporary Japanese youth activism is best understood as a form of networked solidarity operating across online and offline spaces, rather than as a revival of traditional student movements. Engagement with Palestine serves not only as an expression of international concern but also as a means through which young people negotiate political identity, ethical responsibility, and belonging in a context of limited domestic political opportunity.

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Paper short abstract

Based on debates over the possible reintroduction of military service in Germany, this paper examines how young German–Japanese dual citizens and their families negotiate military obligations across national and generational contexts, shaping the meanings and practices of multiple citizenship.

Paper long abstract

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has renewed political debates on military service in Germany and questions of conscription, loyalty, and responsibility have returned to the public agenda. Previous studies have examined military service among people with migration backgrounds as an expression of moral obligation to the state or national belonging (Yohanani 2024). Other research has analysed it as a rational form of state commitment (Bontenbal et al., 2025), or has explored how citizenship can be used as a tool for wartime mobilisation (Bahovadinova & Borisova, 2025). However, less attention has been paid to how military obligations are negotiated across more than one national and generational context.

This presentation addresses this gap by examining how young people with dual German–Japanese citizenship living in Germany, together with their families, respond to ongoing political debates about the possible reintroduction of military service. Focusing on intergenerational relationships, the presentation explores how these young people face normative expectations to fulfil military obligations as citizens of their country of residence. At the same time, they are influenced by post-war Japanese pacifism rooted in the Japanese Constitution, as well as by parental generations on the Japanese side, who tend to avoid military service. The analysis shows that feelings of obligation are not simply accepted or rejected, but are adjusted through moral reasoning within families. The presentation also examines how these discussions about military service affect the meanings attached to multiple citizenship. It considers how young people maintain, reinterpret, or distance themselves from particular national affiliations.

Rather than treating military service as a fixed attribute inherent to citizenship, this presentation argues for the need to understand it as a negotiated and mutable dimension. Military obligation is shown to be shaped by transnational legal frameworks, historical experiences, and intergenerational moral thinking.