Japanese Constitutional Revisionism and Civic Activism

Helen Hardacre is Reischauer Institute professor of Japanese religions and society at Harvard University.Timothy S. George is professor of history at the University of Rhode Island.Keigo Komamura is vice president and professor of law at Keio University.Franziska Seraphim is associate professor at Boston College.

This rich collection of essays puts flesh on the tired bones of Japanese debates about whether to protect or revise the 1947 Constitution. Highlighting civic activism across the postwar period, the authors show the contention to be much more complicated—and politically and socially dynamic—than an either/or proposition. Comparisons with Taiwan and South Korea and attention not only to Article 9 but to human rights and environmental questions give the book an expansive character. This intelligent and informative study is a pleasure to read.

• Part I: Activism and Constitutional PoliticsChapter 1: Article 9 Meets Civic Activism: Reflection on the Sunagawa CaseChapter 2: Crisis of Constitutional Democracy and the New Civic Activism in Japan: From SEALDs to Civil AllianceChapter 3: Popular Sovereignty, Social Movements, and Money: The Political Process in 1960 and 2014 Surrounding National SecurityChapter 4: Regarding Constitutional Revision Within and Without the National DietChapter 5: Reflections on Part IPart II: Activists for and Against Constitutional Revision, edited by Helen HardacreChapter 6: New Civic Activism and Constitutional Discussion: Streets, Shrines and CyberspaceChapter 7: Reviving Constitutional Democracy: Gender Parity and Women’s Engagement with PoliticsChapter 8: Soka Gakkai’s Impact on Constitutional Revision AttemptsChapter 9: Nippon Kaigi Working for Constitutional RevisionChapter 10: Reflections on Part IIPart III: Understanding Japanese Constitutional Revision in Historical and Comparative Per