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This talk addresses the criticism toward Asian wet markets as reservoir for zoonoses, a discourse emergent alongside the outbreak narrative of Covid-19 surrounding the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan. It unpacks the stigmatization of wet market — a term first popularized in Singapore in the 1970s, when wet markets were differentiated from air-conditioned supermarkets — and the misfire of considering such food market form as biosecurity risk. While it is crucial to examine the neoliberal form of large animal farms coupled with mega-sized food infrastructure in contemporary China, which stretches beyond the “threshold of domestication” as some anthropologists and evolutionary biologists have warned, Dr. Hsieh argues that central to the friction on wet markets is the politics of multispecies life and death entangled with precarious labor created in the economic boom-and-bust cycles in Asia. She suggests that a better understanding of how Asia’s food infrastructure intersects with local and international food regimes will be essential to our vision for a post-pandemic world. Dr. I-Yi Hsieh is an anthropologist based in Taipei. Her research interests are urban anthropology, multispecies urbanism, and anthropology of art. Her current ethnographic research project examines the global friction on wet markets, following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a special focus on the multispecies web of life and death entangled in the East Asian food infrastructure. She is also working on a book manuscript tentatively titled “Insect, Fish, Flower, Bird: Private Collecting and Domestic Nature in Reform Era Beijing.” You can find her publications in Asian Anthropology, positions: asia critique, International Quarterly of Asian Studies, and Asian Theatre Journal. https://otago.zoom.us/j/99338707134?pwd=Q3IrdkhEODg3eEM0MkNGaWNrUzJPZz09 Password: 525701; Meeting ID: 993 3870 7134 Tuesday, 3 May 12 2022 on Zoom and in Arts 5C13 12:00 PM (NZ) 
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Shin Takahashi (Victoria University of Wellington) Funding available for NZ-based scholars working on Southeast Asia to attend
ASAA 2022 This award is proudly supported by The Nicholas Tarling Charitable Trust Deadline for proposals: 10 February 2022 Announcement: 28 February 2022 Event: Asian Studies Association of Australia Conference Dates: 5th - 8th July 2022 Venue: Monash University, Melbourne, conference hubs at Monash international campuses, and virtually The ASAA Conference 'Social Justice in Pandemic Times' will bring together academics, activists, artists, students, practitioners and community members from across disciplines with shared interest in Asia, including Asian communities in Australia and globally. The theme of Social Justice is particularly apt as the region grapples with complex issues in a time of COVID-19. The conference is open to all who wish to share their scholarship and hear about Asia. It seeks to create conversation between people working across Asia. We welcome inter-country and interdisciplinary research and, befitting the theme, we aspire to ensure speakers represent all walks of life and engage a diverse range of topics. Three awards will be funded by The Nicholas Tarling Charitable Trust (it is estimated that each award will cover the registration fee, return flights NZ-Australia, insurance of tickets, airport transfers, and four night’s accommodation): 1. Nicholas Tarling ASAA conference presentation (student). The total value of this award is NZ$2700. 2. Nicholas Tarling ASAA conference presentation (scholar). The total value of this award is NZ$2950. 3. Nicholas Tarling ASAA Keynote conference address. This award will support a person to present a keynote address at the ASAA, named the Professor Nicholas Tarling Keynote Address. The total value of this award is NZ$3683. In each case the awarded sum will be paid directly to the successful applicant by The Nicholas Tarling Charitable Trust to a nominated New Zealand bank account. The awardee will then be responsible for making their own arrangements to attend the Conference. How to apply You must submit by the due date the following to this email address: arts-hfcentre@monash.edu
Eligibility You must be based in New Zealand You must work on Southeast Asia You must be eligible to travel to Australia Important note: Awarding of these grants is contingent on travel being permitted. If travel is not permitted due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions the grant may cover virtual registration fees. All travel costs are to be insured by a travel agent, must be fully refundable and if the travel is not permitted due to Covid-19 restrictions, must be returned to The Nicholas Tarling Charitable Trust. Shin Takahashi (Victoria University of Wellington) Call for Papers
This workshop focuses on international mobilities and migration as a way to understand the impacts of WWII across the Asia-Pacific region. Crises, including war, famine, natural disasters, political upheavals (such as revolution), epidemics and pandemics, create human mobilities and migration on a large scale. WWII was no exception. Charles Tilly describes World War II as “one of the greatest demographic whirlwinds to sweep the earth” (Tilly 2006). This demographic whirlwind also swept through the battlefields of the Asia Pacific region. While there is substantial research on war mobilities in the European context (deportees, expellees, refugees, etc.), much less is documented about similar experiences in Asia and the Pacific, despite ample cases of such mobilities (forced labourers, POWs, evacuees, etc.). This disparity likely results from two factors. First, war histories tend to be researched within a paradigm of national history at the expense of inter-regional war mobilities. Second, international migration studies (IMS) have paid scarce attention to war migration/mobilities in Asia. This workshop will challenge dominant paradigms in both war histories and IMS and enrich various social histories of war. Types of war mobility and migration that this workshop is concerned with include, but are not limited to, the following: ・Military personnel as (coerced) mobile/migrant military labour ・Civilian internees and labourers as forced migrants of war ・Evacuees and deportees as forced migrants of war ・POWs as forced migrants and forced labourers of war ・Embedded journalists and war artists ・Military medical staff ・Religious missionaries The key factor that must be addressed is the crossing of borders, whether internal or external, across land or water. The period of war mobilities and migration for this workshop is set from 1931 to 1953. In East Asia there were several battles prior to 1941, including the Manchurian incident. And just five years after the end of WWII the Korean war began, so again the Asia Pacific region was fighting a war, with the line between hot and cold never clear. This workshop thus situates WWII within a chain of small and larger conflicts. Although the focal period is from 1931 to 1953, the impacts of war mobilities and migration created ongoing effects and the causes may have had roots prior to 1931. Therefore, the period from 1931 to 1953 may be flexibly interpreted as regards the causes and impacts of war mobilities. By identifying various types of war mobilities and migration, the transnational connections or disconnections resulting from them, and the manifested outcomes of these mobilities, this workshop aims to present complex histories of World War II and to shift familiar ways of understanding this war, and the empires and (changing) borders that have often defined it. Some key questions include: ・How did war mobilities and migration create new transnational connections or flows of ideas, while disconnecting other ones? ・How did war mobilities and migration challenge a regional framework by connecting Asia and the Pacific? ・How did war mobilities and migration impact on colonial structures and create different social realities and connectivities? ・How did war mobilities and migration reproduce and enforce colonial power structures? ・How did war mobilities and migration impact on gender roles and relations in colonial societies? ・How do war mobilities and migration in Asia and the Pacific enable us to contextualise this region in a world history of the Second World War? SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS While scholars from any stage of their career are welcome to apply to attend this workshop, early career researchers (ECRs) are particularly encouraged as one of the key aims is to support ECRs. Successful PhD and ECR applicants will have the opportunity to attend a presentation training and feedback session with the convenors prior to the workshop. (ERC eligibility: PhD awarded no earlier than 2016; career interruptions are also considered). Selected papers from the workshop will be submitted to a Q1 journal (yet to be confirmed) as part of a special issue on war mobilities in the Asia Pacific War/WWII. Those selected for inclusion will be expected to work with the workshop convenors/special issue editors to revise their draft paper and to adhere to set deadlines. We anticipate publication in 2023/24. ◆Paper proposals should include: 1) a title; 2) an abstract (up to 500 words maximum); 3) a brief personal biography of 150 words); and 4) contact details. Please use the template for your paper proposal and submit your proposal to yasukohk@fc.ritsumei.ac.jp. ◆Key dates 1) Deadline for submission: 17 January 2022 2) Notification of outcomes of your submission: by 14 February 2022 3) Workshop presentation mentoring for ECRs: TBA June 2022 4) Online workshop: 18 & 19 July 2022. Keynote Speaker: TBA WORKSHOP CONVENORS ・Dr Christine de Matos (Faculty of Arts & Sciences and Business & Law. The University of Notre Dame Australia) ・Dr Rowena Ward (School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong, Australia) ・Associate Professor Yasuko Hassall Kobayashi (College of Global Liberal Arts, Ritsumeikan University, Japan) To contact the convenors Please send an email to yasukohk@fc.ritsumei.ac.jp. ************************** This workshop is funded by an Event Grant for the 2021 round from the Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) & by the Institute of Humanities, Human and Social Science, Ritsumeikan University. Courtney Powell (Victoria University of Wellington) The Ainu people have a long history of fighting for recognition of the rights and indigeneity. The northernmost island of Japan, Hokkaidō, was colonised by the Japanese and Ainu rights to their land, culture and language have been continuously denied by a policy of expected assimilation. This would lead to attempts by Japanese to commodify and assert control over Ainu cultural practices. It took until June 2008 for the Japanese Government to pass a resolution that recognised the Ainu as the indigenous people of Hokkaidō. Prior to this, Japan promoted itself as an ethnically homogenous nation and Ainu were commonly accepted to have been assimilated completely into Japanese society. But they had not.
Scholars have examined the various resistance efforts Ainu have employed to these expectations. Richard Siddle's seminal work Race, Resistance and the Ainu of Japan remains influential and relevant to this day.[1] ann-elise lewallen's work on Ainu women and their traditions have been of particular importance in considering intersectional feminist and indigenous histories.[2] Their work in exploring Ainu histories, along with the increasing number of Ainu scholars, have shaped how Ainu history is understood, theorised and remembered. This has most recently included works that consider cultural engagement as a form of resistance; when the demand for assimilation was so overwhelming, simply participating in cultural practices, speaking the language, and eating traditional food is s form of protest. The development of publications and institutions centred on Ainu culture in the late-twentieth century has been particularly influential in the political and cultural gains that Ainu have made in the twenty-first century. The Ainu cultural revitalisation movement from the 1970s initiated the emergence of groups and establishments made by Ainu, for Ainu. These efforts have enabled Ainu to embrace their traditions and gain a sense of cultural pride. Literary works and publications were especially important in laying the foundations for future endeavours that would encapsulate Ainu language programs and broadcasts. Language revitalisation programs in the 1980s were integral to intergenerational knowledge transmission and maintaining the vitality of the language. From the 1990s, these efforts would move beyond Hokkaidō and other practices such as cooking traditional meals would be introduced to a larger audience. These were integral steps which would see more Ainu spaces open, increasing recognition not just for Ainu as a people, but allow the impacts of assimilation to slowly be undone. The independent Ainu newspaper, Anutari Ainu (We Humans) was a significant cultural development in the 1970s. It was reportedly made in response to turmoil during this period which saw Japanese activists protesting on behalf of Ainu through violent means.[3] Ainu used alternative, peaceful methods in order to assert their cultural rights and discuss issues relevant to them. Anutari Ainu was published throughout from 1973 until 1976, spearheaded by primarily young, Ainu women. It was led by Dobashi Yoshimi née Hiramura and was contributed by several prominent Ainu figures such as Sasaki Masao. The publication was written in Japanese, arguably utilising the tools that had been an integral part of their subordination, to resist further marginalisation by encouraging Ainu cultural revitalisation. The paper published a wide variety of content from journalistic articles to poetry and prose. Young Ainu authors could promote their voices and it established a platform where they could explore their heritage. In its first issue, Anutari Ainu discussed the matter of Ainu language revival. It is evident that the plight of the Ainu language, increasingly only spoken and understood by those of the older generations and failing to be passed on, was a pressing cultural issue. The article brought this matter to attention, but it would be until the 1980s that this would begin to be resolved. It was believed by this time that only 40 elderly Ainu could speak the language.[4] But in 1983, the first Ainu-medium school was built. Ainu activist Kayano Shigeru established the Nibutani Ainu Language School, and this was quickly followed by others in Asahikawa (1987), Urakawa and Kushiro (1989). More were built across Hokkiadō in the 1990s. This was not the only integral language-related development of the period. In 1989 a radio-based Ainu language course was established in Hokkaidō on Sapporo Radio. It was expected to be a complementary program and continues to be broadcast today.[5] However, it was only accessible to Ainu who lived in Hokkaidō, unfortunately out of reach for Ainu in the diaspora. However, the attempts to revitalise and thus maintain the Ainu language brought new advancements that bolstered the cultural revitalisation movement. Despite the reach of the radio and language school remaining limited to those in Hokkaidō, Ainu in the diaspora would make their own communities and find other ways to engage with their traditions. Ainu increasingly began to move out of Hokkaidō and find work in cities like Tōkyō, in the largest island Honshū. An important place for these "urban Ainu" living in Tōkyō, was Rera Cise (House of Wind). Established in 1994, the restaurant was built by the local Ainu Association in Rera and was the first Ainu-cuisine restaurant to be established in Tōkyō. It showcased not only traditional food, but also food Ainu created after the Meiji period.[6] This demonstrates not only the longevity of certain elements of Ainu traditions, but also the fluidity of culture and how that can change over time. The oldest cultural forms does not necessarily make it the most authentic, and cultural longevity is achieved by adapting and giving meaning to new practices. Rera Cise enabled Ainu of all generations to find comfort and community, engaging with their people and sharing food with all of Tōkyō. These achievements were not only significant steps during their time, but their effects have rippled outwards into other endeavours. Language revitalisation continued with the non-profit association Urespa bringing together Ainu and Japanese students to learn the Ainu language and cultural practices together from 2010. Most significantly, the National Ainu Museum, Upopoy, opened in 2020. It was the culmination of 11 years of work to bring about a "symbolic space for ethnic harmony."[7] It continues the mission that much of the publications and institutions of the 1970s–1990s strove to achieve, preventing the decline of Ainu language and practices, and promoting cross-cultural learning. The fight for the wider recognition of Ainu is still not over, but the cultural revival movement over the past 50 years has changed the social and political landscape for Ainu. Their contemporary inclusion in the larger Japanese narrative is evident with their inclusion in the Tōkyō 2020 Olympics, despite initially being omitted from the opening ceremony. Ainu activists and scholars continue their work into today, unceasing in their endeavour to continue to maintain awareness and cultural pride for the next generations. Bibliography "アイヌ語ラジオ講座." STVラジオ. https://www.stv.jp/radio/ainugo/index.html. "About Upopoy." Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park. https://ainu-upopoy.jp/en/about/. Lewallen, Ann-Elise. “Hands That Never Rest: Ainu Women, Cultural Revival, and Indigenous Politics in Japan.” PhD, University of Michigan, 2006. Sala, Gary C. “Protest and the Ainu of Hokkaido.” Japan Interpreter 10, no. 1 (1975): 44–65. Siddle, Richard. Race, Resistance, and the Ainu of Japan. London; New York: Routledge, 1996. Smith, James. “Aborigines ‘Rising Up, Though a Little Late’ : Japan’s Ainu Discover New Pride in Their Heritage.” Los Angeles Times. November 1, 1987. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-11-01-mn-17706-story.html. Uzawa, Kanako. “Everyday Acts of Resurgence and Diasporic Indigeneity among the Ainu of Tokyo.” In Indigenous Efflorescence, edited by Gerald Roche, Hiroshi Maruyama, and Åsa Virdi Kroik, 179–204. Beyond Revitalisation in Sapmi and Ainu Mosir. ANU Press, 2018. [1] Richard Siddle, Race, Resistance, and the Ainu of Japan, Sheffield Centre for Japanese Studies/Routledge Series (London; New York: Routledge, 1996). [2] Ann-Elise Lewallen, “Hands That Never Rest: Ainu Women, Cultural Revival, and Indigenous Politics in Japan.” (PhD, University of Michigan, 2006). [3] Gary C. Sala, “Protest and the Ainu of Hokkaido,” Japan Interpreter 10, no. 1 (1975): 62. [4] James Smith, “Aborigines ‘Rising Up, Though a Little Late’ : Japan’s Ainu Discover New Pride in Their Heritage,” Los Angeles Times, November 1, 1987, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-11-01-mn-17706-story.html. [5] "アイヌ語ラジオ講座," STVラジオ, https://www.stv.jp/radio/ainugo/index.html. [6] Kanako Uzawa, “Everyday Acts of Resurgence and Diasporic Indigeneity among the Ainu of Tokyo,” in Indigenous Efflorescence, ed. Gerald Roche, Hiroshi Maruyama, and Åsa Virdi Kroik, Beyond Revitalisation in Sapmi and Ainu Mosir (ANU Press, 2018), 194. [7] "About Upopoy," Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park, https://ainu-upopoy.jp/en/about/. By Associate Professor Sharyn Davies (Monash University) The ASAA Conference 'Social Justice in Pandemic Times' will bring together academics, activists, artists, students, practitioners and community members from across disciplines with shared interest in Asia, including Asian communities in Australia and globally.
The theme of Social Justice is particularly apt as the region grapples with complex issues in a time of COVID-19. The conference is open to all who wish to share their scholarship and hear about Asia. It seeks to create conversation between people working across Asia. We welcome inter-country and interdisciplinary research and, befitting the theme, we aspire to ensure speakers represent all walks of life and engage a diverse range of topics. The biennial Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) conference is the largest gathering of experts working on Asia in the southern hemisphere and has been a regular feature of Australian scholarly life since 1976. The Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) is the peak body of university experts and educators on Asia in Australia. We promote and support the study of Asia in Australian universities and knowledge of Asia among the broader community. Our membership is drawn mainly from academics and students, but also includes industry and government Asia experts. We take a strong interest in promoting knowledge about Asia in schools and in contributing to state and Commonwealth government policies related to Asia. The ASAA warmly thanks Monash University and the Herb Feith Engagement Centre for taking on the role as hosts of the 24th biennial ASAA conference in 2022. Key Dates Call For Papers
For more information, please click the link: https://monasharts.cventevents.com/event/e7785594-d756-45a9-bdea-d9f45ec88bac/summary?environment=P2 By Dr. Chia-rong Wu (University of Canterbury) Call for Chapter Proposals
Taiwan Literature in the 21st Century: 16 New Chapters Editors: Chia-rong Wu and Ming-ju Fan Publisher: Springer (Sinophone and Taiwan Studies Series) Proposal Submission Deadline: November 1, 2021 Introduction Co-edited by Dr. Chia-rong Wu (University of Canterbury) and Professor Ming-ju Fan (National Chengchi University), Taiwan Literature in the 21st Century: 16 New Chapters is an anthology of research under contract with Springer, one of the leading publishers in the world. It not only engages with the evolving trends of literary Taiwan, but also promotes the translocal consciousness and cultural diversity of the island-state. The list of topics includes but is not limited to human rights, political and social transitions, post-nativism, indigenous consciousness, science fiction, ecocriticism, gender and queer studies, and localization and globalization. The edited volume will contain sixteen chapters of approximately 6,000 words each, including footnotes and bibliographies. The editors will consider to extend the volume to twenty chapter upon the approval of Springer. Each chapter closely examines an individual author through vigorous research and engagement with current scholarship. The goal is to rethink existing prominent topics and further explore innovative takes on Taiwan literature. The book is scheduled to be published in 2023. Submission Guidelines To be considered for contribution to the edited volume, please submit a CV and a chapter proposal no longer than 250 words to Chia-rong Wu (chiarong.wu@canterbury.ac.nz) by November 1, 2021. We are looking forward to receiving proposals on the following Taiwanese writers: Chang Kuei-hsing, Chen Xue, Chung Wen-yin, Akira Higashiyama, Li Yung-ping, Liglav A-wu, Luo Yijun, Shawna Yang Ryan, Tong Wei-ger, Zhang Yi-xuan, and Egoyan Zheng. Please do not submit proposals on Kevin Chen, Gan Yao-ming, Hsia Yu, Huang Chong-Kai, Lai Hsiang-yin, Li Ang, Shaman Ranpoan, Wang Wen-hsing, and Wu Ming-yi because these writers have been selected. A proposal on any Taiwanese writer not on the above list will be considered, as long as it addresses essential topics related to the collection and/or speaks to the evolving trend of Taiwan literature in the 21st century. The edited volume follows American English spelling conventions and Springer Humanities Style, which is based on the Chicago Manual of Style. Key Dates November 1, 2021 Chapter proposal due November 15, 2021 Notification of acceptance for contribution May 15, 2022 Submission of chapter manuscript to editors Contact Information of the Editors Chia-rong Wu, Senior Lecturer, University of Canterbury (chiarong.wu@canterbury.ac.nz) Ming-ju Fan, Distinguished Professor, National Chengchi University (fanmj@nccu.edu.tw) By Malcolm McKinnon (Victoria University of Wellington) On March 23 the Centre for Strategic Studies at VUW hosted the first of a projected series of webinars with a Southeast Asia focus. The webinar, titled "Mainland Southeast Asia power, protest and participation' focused on recent developments in mainland Southeast Asia: an unprecedentedly iconoclastic wave of mass protests in Thailand; a critical National Party Congress in Vietnam; and the overthrow of the elected government in Myanmar by the country’s military. Beyond the drama of the headlines, developments in all three countries demonstrated ongoing tensions between authoritarian regimes or forces and the rights of people to participate in, to protest and to exercise political power. The three speakers were Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; Wai Wai Nu, Peace, Human Rights and Women Rights Advocate, Founder of Women's Peace Network, Myanmar; and Nguyen Khac Giang, Victoria University of Wellington. The discussant was Professor Natasha Hamilton-Hart from the University of Auckland and the webinar was chaired by Emeritus Professor Rob Rabel. A recording of the webinar can be accessed through CSS. Link (https://www.youtube.com/embed/CpiS0jBo8Fs) We would like to invite to the upcoming book launch event to celebrate some of our colleagues who have recently published books.
The books include:
These books will be of particular interests to scholars in and of Asia as well as our wider community of anthropologist, ethnographers, and scholars thinking about social, environmental, and political change more broadly. We would love it if you could join us to mark this event (If you are in Wellington). At the launch, we’ll introduce the books, some key arguments, and you’ll also hear from local authors whose works are included in the book(s). This small discussion around the books will be followed by light refreshments and drinks. The evening celebration has generously been supported by School of Social and Cultural Studies (SACS) and Centre for Science in Society (CSiS) at Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington. It is also supported by New Zealand Association of Asian Studies (NZASIA)and the Association of Social Anthropologists of Aotearoa/New Zealand (ASAA/NZ). Event Details: Thursday, May 27th, 2021 4:00 – 6:00 pm Hunter Council Room By Dr Alexander Brown
Disasters are complex natural and socio-political phenomena and their meanings shift in historical and geographical perspective. The Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster of 11 March 2011, which came to be known by the shorthand ‘3.11’, originated with a major earthquake that triggered a massive tsunami that hit the northeast coast of Japan. These events combined to cause a major nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Critical scholars and activists have highlighted the ways in which the 3.11 disaster has been mobilised by nationalistic frames. These included exhortations to buy food products from the disaster-affected regions – despite valid concerns over radioactive contamination of some foodstuffs – and the deployment of notions of kizuna (the ties that bind) by state and corporate actors to encourage a sense of being ‘in this together’ rather than apportioning blame for the disaster to nuclear power plant operators and regulators. Nevertheless, it was clear from the beginning that the 3.11 disaster was global in scale and there have been multiple attempts to understand the disaster beyond the national frame. As a scholar and activist who has lived in both Australia and Japan during the ten years since 3.11, I have mapped the transpacific geographies of the disaster imagined and enacted by activists in both countries.[1] My personal experiences reflect the structural relationship between these two modern nation states. The American ‘atoms for peace’ initiative of the 1950s sought to preserve American leadership in nuclear policy by supporting American allies to develop civilian nuclear power programmes. The result has been a nuclear relationship between Australia and Japan that takes the form of a civilian energy partnership. Australia supplies Japan with uranium for electric power generation but the trading relationship is situated within military alliances underpinned by the destructive power of the American nuclear umbrella. Australia’s nuclear relationship with Japan began with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, when Australia prisoners of war were irradiated in Nagasaki. Australian troops later took command of Hiroshima as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces. There they witnessed the terrible aftereffects of the bomb. Many Australians supported the use of nuclear weapons against Japan because they believed that it had been decisive in helping end the war. Support for the use of these weapons was eroded, however, by the emergence of a transnational anti-nuclear movement in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1958 Australian peace and anti-nuclear activists organised a tour of a series of large-scale mural artworks by the Japanese artists Maruki Toshi and Maruki Iri. The public flocked to see the works, known as The Hiroshima Panels. These haunting images created lasting memories of the horror of nuclear war.[2] The panels visited New Zealand, too, where they influenced a number of people who would go on to become leading artists and activists.[3] Significant uranium deposits were discovered in Australia in the 1970 just as the global nuclear power industry was gathering steam. Opposition to its mining and export was driven by concerns about radiation risks and mining development and by fears that once exported, Australian yellowcake might make its way into nuclear weapons. Furthermore, the uranium was located on Aboriginal land. Opposition in Australia to uranium exports thereby provided a major impetus for the development of intersectional struggles that brought Indigenous people together with unions, the peace movement and a nascent environment movement. The legacy of this movement dating back to the 1970s created transnational memories of anti-nuclear struggle. After 3.11, these memories informed anti-nuclear protest in Australia.[4] Mirarr Senior Traditional Owner Yvonne Margarula, an Aboriginal elder whose Country in northern Australia encompasses Ranger, one of the world’s largest uranium mines, was one of the first to articulate the geographical link between Fukushima and Australia. The mine, she correctly supposed, had supplied yellowcake for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Mirarr country is located far from northeast Japan but for Margarula the Fukushima disaster was a deeply personal tragedy. She saw it as the direct result of mining sacred sites on her Country, mining which her father had warned would have fatal consequences. The slogan ‘Australian Uranium Fuelled Fukushima’ underpinned a campaign of anti-nuclear protest in Australia that has highlighted the transpacific dimension of 3.11. In 2014, Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzō visited Australia where he posed with then Prime Minister Tony Abbott in front of a giant Komatsu 930E dump truck at the West Angelas iron ore mine. ‘Manspreading’ in front of this symbol of Japanese manufacturing and Australian resource might, the two reaffirmed their commitment to a bilateral relationship based on extractive industry. Abe’s visit stands in stark contrast to another bilateral encounter that occurred the same year in Jabiru, the mining town built to house workers at the Ranger mine. There, former Japanese prime minister Kan Naoto, who held the office at the time of the March 2011 disaster, met with Mirarr Traditional Owners to listen to their stories of a decades-long struggle against radioactive racism. This second visit showed that another Australia-Japan relationship is possible, one that is based on decolonisation, respect for the environment and peace. In the ten years since Fukushima, the Japanese nuclear industry has languished in the face of electricity market deregulation, regulatory uncertainty, legal ambiguity and persistent public opposition to nuclear power. On the other hand, the struggle against nuclear power, uranium mining and nuclear weapons has strengthened transpacific civil society. An example of this is Japanese NGO Peace Boat’s partnership with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organisations founded in Melbourne. As a member of ICAN’s International Steering Group, Peace Boat has organised and supported tours of Japanese nuclear bomb survivors and survivors of the 3.11 nuclear disaster to Australia and invited Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to speak about their struggles in Japan. ICAN’s principal campaigning has focused on the development of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a new international legal instrument which bans the possession of nuclear weapons. The treaty, which entered into force in January this year, has been driven from below by civil society activism and by the diplomacy of mostly smaller nations, including many in the Pacific. Neither Australia nor Japan have signed the treaty as yet. Both nations remain militarily and politically enmeshed in the US nuclear umbrella and the global nuclear fuel cycle. Ten years after 3.11, it remains the responsibility of civil society to make the long-held dream of a nuclear free Pacific a reality. [1] Alexander Brown, Anti-nuclear protest in post-Fukushima Tokyo: power struggles, Routledge, London, 2018; Alexander Brown and Catherine Tsukasa Bender, ‘The global hiroba: transnational spaces in Tokyo’s anti-nuclear movement’, in Richard J. White, Simon Springer and Marcelo Lopes de Souza (eds), The practice of freedom: anarchism, geography and the spirit of revolt, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, 2016, pp. 133–52. [2] Alexander Brown, The Hiroshima Panels and Australia, in Shinnosuke Takahashi and Yasuko Hassall Kobayashi (eds) Transpacific visions: connected histories of the Pacific across north and south, Lexington Books, forthcoming. [3] Hannah Joy Sawada, ‘The Hiroshima Panels: their reverberations in the arts of nuclear-free New Zealand’, Nihon Nyūjiirando gakkaishi, vol. 25, 2018, pp. 14–23. [4] Alexander Brown, ‘Transnational memory and the Fukushima disaster: memories of Japan in Australian anti-nuclear activism’, PORTAL: Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies, vol. 17, nos 1–2, 2020, https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/index.php/portal/article/view/7094/7603 |
The views expressed in these blogs are not those of the NZASIA Executive and reflect the personal views of the blog authors.
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