Maneuvers of Multiculturalism: International Representations of Minority Politics in Japan

Abstract

This article argues that multicultural representations of Japan make demands of the populations they describe as much as they open new social and political possibilities. This argument mirrors others that have been made about the myth of Japanese homogeneity, i.e. that representations of the Japanese citizenry are historical formations, entrenched in institutionalized practice, and with characterizable effects. Examining contemporary representations of Buraku issues within the work of political organizations, foreign scholars, and funding agencies such as the Japan Foundation, I explore four maneuvers of multicultural political practice: enlistment, equilibration, authentication, and woundedness. In this examination, I aim to shed light simultaneously upon the processes through which multiculturalism disciplines the subjects it describes and upon the ways in which such maneuvers help achieve international recognition of a liberal, multicultural Japan.

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