2020: “Mindo” and the Matter of Black Lives in Japan

The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Volume 18 | Issue 17 | Number 6 | Article ID 5480 | Sep 01, 2020
Mit freundlicher Erlaubnis von Japan Focus


“Mindo” and the Matter of Black Lives in Japan
John G. Russell

 

Abstract:
Representations of blacks in Japan continue to be problematic even when the media itself, a prime purveyor of racial misrepresentations, attempts to address the issue. This has become evident in its coverage of global Black Lives Matter protests for racial justice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by police in the United States. While protests have occurred in a number of Japanese cities, mainstream coverage has ignored them and remained focused on those demonstrations that have taken place abroad. While these demonstrations have prompted a reexamination of anti-black racism in the United States and Europe, the Japanese media has largely avoided introspective discussion of its domestic manifestations, despite its prevalence on the internet, social media, and television, including corporate mainstream news broadcasts that have feebly attempted to examine the issue.


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