Confronting Japan's Anti‐Asian Racism: The Transformation of the Beheiren Movement's Identity during the Vietnam War

Abstract

This study explores the Beheiren movement (also known as The Citizens' Alliance for Peace in Vietnam), Japan's first transnational anti‐war movement (1965–1974). It focuses on the transcultural formation and transformation of its movement identity during the Vietnam war. Initially, movement participants developed an ethnoracial consciousness toward the Vietnamese based on their perceptions of a common victimization by U.S. imperialism. Yet, Beheiren leaders' transcultural interactions with both Korean detainees in the Omura Detention Facility in Japan and members of the Black Power movement in the United States helped them to develop an antiracist consciousness toward fellow Asians beyond the context of the Vietnam war. While their interactions with Korean detainees forced them to examine Japan's internal structural oppressions against fellow Asians (e.g., Korean residents in Japan) and fellow Japanese (e.g., the Okinawans), their interactions with the Black Power movement raised their awareness of antiracism and Third‐Worldism. These interactions were necessary to transforming the movement's identity, resulting in a confrontation with its own anti‐Asian racism in the local cultural context of Japanese society as well as in the form of economic imperialism in Asia.

Breaking Borders, Bridging Fields: Unveiling the Transculturality of Anti‐Asian Racism in a Global Context

“…Two articles in this issue investigate historical contexts to enhance our understanding of anti-Asian racism. Setsuko Matsuzawa (2024) combines transcultural and historical perspectives to trace the evolving identity of Japan's first transnational anti-war movement, Beheiren. It highlights Beheiren's journey from a Pan-Asian solidarity stance to a critical examination of Japan's role in Asian oppression, marking a significant transformation in the movement's identity and approach to anti-Asian racism, thereby enriching the discourse on transculturality and racial awareness.…”

Embracing linguistic diversity: Global Englishes language teaching for anti-racist education

“…Racism and white supremacy have deep historical roots in most Western societies (Qingqing, 2021). However, efforts have been made to raise awareness of anti-racism in multicultural contexts, such as initiatives like Khmer Girls in Action focusing on public health solutions (Lin, 2022), transcultural interaction (Matsuzawa, 2024), and addressing biases at individual and institutional levels (Louie-Poon et al, 2022).…”