Institute for Japanese Studies (IJS) has been hosting serieses of talks encompassing Japanese politics, economy, cultures and arts. With the experts from Europe, U.S. and Japan, we deliver the talks in multiple languages including Japanese, Korean and English.

We are pleased to host No.275  lecture as a part of Japan Specialist Seminars, titled  'Repeated Return' as Criticism of Postwar Democracy and the Decolonization of Okinawa

* This seminar is held hybrid –both online and offline

Date : 2023. 6. 13 (Tuesday) 12:00 - 14:00 (The lecture will start from 12:30)

Venue : SNU GSIS(Bldg 140) GL Room / Zoom

- Zoom ID : 583 289 8745

- Zoom Link : https://snu-ac-kr.zoom.us/j/5832898745

Lecturer  :Jung Shin Hyuck,  Post Ph.D. Fellow, Department of History, University of Toronto

Title : 'Repeated Return' as Criticism of Postwar Democracy and the Decolonization of Okinawa

Post-war democracy in Japan has become one of the key agendas of post-war Japan through the demilitarization and democratization process that unfolded after the defeat, especially the enactment of the "Peace Constitution," but on the other hand, it has a blind spot that it has not deeply dug into the issue of discrimination, exclusion, and colonial heritage.

 This presentation will examine how criticism of post-war democracy was presented from the perspective of Okinawa under U.S. rule as well as mainland Japan in the late 1960s. This criticism emerged amid growing critical discussions on colonialism embedded in mainland-Okinawa relations ahead of the return of Okinawa in 1972.

The presentation examines the meaning of mainland criticism and the so-called "repeated return theory" raised by Okinawan intellectuals, including Akira Arakawa, Keitoku Okamoto, and Shinichi Kawamitsu, as criticism of Cold War colonialism and post-war democracy.

Language : Korean

Inquiry : SNU-IJS (880-8503 / ijs@snu.ac.kr)