The Persistence of Japanese Empire and Colonialism: Transnational Network of History Denialism

Drawing on participant observation and archival research, this paper suggests that Japanese history denialism has grown in the last 30 years, crossing national borders to form a transnational right-wing network that links far-right state and non-state actors in Japan, South Korea, and the US. The transnational right-wing network of history denialism has been constructed around the issue of “comfort women,” a significant case of Japanese empire’s wartime violence. This research adopts a decolonial feminist analysis to examine the connections between transnational right-wing networks, colonialism, imperialism, and gender politics. First, I argue that state actors can play an important role in transnational right-wing networks. Second, I address the entanglement between contemporary right-wing mobilization and the legacies of empire and colonialism. Third, I suggest that transnational right-wing mobilization is centered on gender as it targets the weakest and most vulnerable population. By recognizing the transnational construction of Japanese history denialism and its intended effects, I call for a sociology of empire that takes seriously Japanese empire, its persistent imperialism and colonialism, and gender politics as its pillar of theorization.