This is a cross posting from: http://www.possible-futures.org, published February 28, 2012
By Hiro Sito
On October 15, 2011, Occupy Tokyoprotests took place in three different districts: Hibiya, Shinjuku, and Roppongi. Before the rallies began, protesters gathered in parks where organizers and participants gave speeches. They expressed solidarity with the worldwide Occupy movement, criticized a widening economic gap in Japan, and demanded a more just world. Protesters then took to the streets with their placards, drums, and megaphones to shout slogans to reclaim society for “the 99%.”
Yet, the Occupy Tokyo protests were underwhelming: they drew only about five hundred people in total. The protests also lasted only a day and did not make a claim on public spaces that could have turned Occupy Tokyo into a durable movement. At first glance, the Occupy movement that spread across the United States and Europe seemed to have little resonance in Japan.
On closer inspection, however, it becomes clear that the Occupy movement did not lack resonance but was articulated in a distinct way: Japan’s Occupy movement intersected with the nationwide nuclear power phaseout movement that emerged in response to the Fukushima disaster. This peculiar articulation of Japan’s Occupy movement is best exemplified by the presence of three tents in front of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the organization responsible for formulating Japan’s economic policies. Since September 11, 2011, activists have been taking turns to occupy the tents twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. They are protesting the Japanese government’s pro-nuclear energy policy.