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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 2d

Japan is losing more than 2,000 people every day to population decline.

Is automation the answer?

This week's Substack post:
www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...

Can Vending Machines Save Japan?

Part II: Salvation Through Automation

www.chrishardingjapan.com

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 7d

Japan's famous vending machines look like late 20th-century tech.

In fact, they're both decades and centuries older.

They may also hold the key to the country's future.

www.chrishardingjapan.com/p/can-vendin...

Can Vending Machines Save Japan?

Part I: Trust meets High Technology

www.chrishardingjapan.com

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 10d

Exciting times in Japan...

Michelle Ye Hee Lee @myhlee.bsky.social · 10d

BREAKING: Sanae Takaichi has been elected leader of the LDP, and is set to become Japan’s first female prime minister.

Michelle Ye Hee Lee @myhlee.bsky.social · 10d

BREAKING: Sanae Takaichi has been elected leader of the LDP, and is set to become Japan’s first female prime minister.

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 19d

Promises to be an interesting evening - do come!

Daiwa Foundation @daiwafoundation.bsky.social · 19d

As part of Noh Reimagined 2025 curator Gina Buenfeld-Murley and Daiwa Scholarships alumnus @drchrisharding.bsky.social will discuss ‘Bashō’ (Plantain Tree) by Konparu Zenchiku (1405–1470), ahead of its first-ever performance outside Japan.

Fri, 28 Nov at 6pm:

www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/wor...

Pre-Performance Talk - Bashō: The Botanical Mind • Words • Kings Place

Gina Buenfeld-Murley, curator of the exhibition 'The Botanical Mind' at Camden Art Centre, joins Dr Christopher Harding, arts historian, to discuss the noh play 'Bashō' (Plantain Tree) by Konparu Zenc...

www.kingsplace.co.uk

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Daiwa Foundation @daiwafoundation.bsky.social · 19d

As part of Noh Reimagined 2025 curator Gina Buenfeld-Murley and Daiwa Scholarships alumnus @drchrisharding.bsky.social will discuss ‘Bashō’ (Plantain Tree) by Konparu Zenchiku (1405–1470), ahead of its first-ever performance outside Japan.

Fri, 28 Nov at 6pm:

www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/wor...

Pre-Performance Talk - Bashō: The Botanical Mind • Words • Kings Place

Gina Buenfeld-Murley, curator of the exhibition 'The Botanical Mind' at Camden Art Centre, joins Dr Christopher Harding, arts historian, to discuss the noh play 'Bashō' (Plantain Tree) by Konparu Zenc...

www.kingsplace.co.uk

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 24d

From gangster to kingmaker: Kodama’s story is the focus for the second of my five essays on America's transformative occupation of Japan, from 1945 to 1952.

www.historywithchrisharding.com/p/the-gangster

Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 24d

Arrested as a Class-A suspect, he was jailed in Sugamo Prison, where he befriended future PM Kishi Nobusuke.

Released in 1948 as US policy shifted, Kodama returned as kuromaku - funding and co-ordinating conservatives, liaising with the CIA, and helping to build the LDP.

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 24d

Kodama Yoshio, born poor in Fukushima in 1911, became an ultranationalist adventurer.

He amassed a fortune in wartime China, from gems to precious metals, doing black-market deals with Nationalists and Communists alike and working as a fixer for the Imperial Japanese Navy.

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 24d

In kabuki, kuromaku ('black curtain') are stagehands dressed in black who move sets unseen.

In politics, they are the unseen power-brokers: the kingmakers, the fixers, the invaluable intermediaries.

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 24d

Japan's LDP leadership election is underway & 'kuromaku' culture is in full swing - the shadowy power behind the curtain.

One of the earliest practitioners, right after WWII, was the gangster & ultranationalist Kodama Yoshio, who helped lay the foundations of the LDP.

A 🧵

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · 29d

‘The sense in Japan of a society and culture under threat and in need of defending is set to be a potent force in politics for a good while to come.’

My piece for @thetimes.com today:
www.thetimes.com/world/asia/a...

Tourists love Japan, but under the surface it’s a Land of Rising Anger

Nationalism and discontent are bubbling over in this country of high taxes and resentment against its sometimes obnoxious visitors

www.thetimes.com

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 12

For more on how Japanese philosophy can help us live well, watch or listen to my conversation with @takeshimorisato.bsky.social.

👉 www.historywithchrisharding.com/p/how-can-ja...

How Can Japanese Philosophy Help Us To Live Well?

An Interview with Takeshi Morisato

www.historywithchrisharding.com

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 12

From this outlook came 4 aesthetics:

✨ Yūgen: a mysterious sense of the other side.

💧 Mono no aware: the pathos of fragility and everything passing away.

🍵 Wabi-sabi: beauty in (apparent) imperfection & incompleteness.

🍂 Iki: elegance with restraint/understatement.

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 12

Unlike Western philosophy, which often seeks universal truth, Japanese thought has leaned more toward:

• imperfection
• finality
• particularity

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 12

At its roots are 3 traditions:

🌿 Shinto mythology (indigenous, ritual & nature-based)
📜 Confucianism & Taoism (imported from China)
🪷 Buddhism (via people, texts & art making their way into Japan from mainland Asia)

Japan wove these threads together in remarkable ways.

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 12

One of the things that first drew me to Japan was its philosophy: growing out of myths, rituals and an awareness of impermanence, and worked into everyday life & art.

A short 🧵 for anyone new to this...

@takeshimorisato.bsky.social

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 9

Looking forward to chatting with you about it soon, Ginny!

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Tobias Harris @tobiasharris.bsky.social · Sep 8

A new Today in Japanese Politics: The first candidates announce their intentions as the LDP debates how to elect a new leader. Plus, a milestone meeting of defense ministers in Seoul. open.substack.com/pub/observin...

The first day of the post-Ishiba era | Today in Japanese Politics

The LDP leadership race takes shape

open.substack.com

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 8

Another one for the 'and they wonder why Japanese people don't like tourists' file...

www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09...

Anger in Japan after Instagrammer drinks burial site offering

On Tuesday, the Australian Embassy warned on Facebook that travelers must ensure 'appropriate behavior' while visiting Japan, without explicitly referring to the incident.

www.japantimes.co.jp

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 8

Ishiba is off!

Japan's PM is stepping down, following two disastrous sets of election results on his watch.

A battle for the soul of the LDP - still Japan's largest party, despite its recent woes - ensues.

Backstory:
www.historywithchrisharding.com/p/rise-of-th...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigns

The prime minister had struggled to inspire confidence as Japan faced economic headwinds.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 5

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For deeper coverage, follow:
@nickkapur.bsky.social
@mrjeffu.bsky.social
@unseenjapan.com

And for my own take, as a cultural historian: www.historywithchrisharding.com/p/rise-of-th...

Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 5

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- Emperor restored as head of state
- Rights curtailed
- Pacifism abandoned
- Controls over media and education.

Some outlets report that Sanseito is in favour of Japan having nuclear weapons.

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 5

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Opposition to same-sex marriage, LGBT rights and migration isn't uncommon in Japan.

But Sanseito have been accused of peddling conspiracy theories and their ideas for replacing Japan's American-authored constitution are pretty dramatic:

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 5

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... but what kind of balance will it now be?

One of the insurgent parties is the pragmatic centre-right 'Democratic Party for the People (DPFP)'.

The other is Sanseito - and their rise is sparking real alarm.

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 5

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The upshot:

After the recent Upper House election, and for the first time since its founding, the LDP along with its coalition partner Komeito hold no majority in EITHER house of parliament.

A major shift in Japan’s political balance.

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 5

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Frustrated voters, including younger Japanese who came of age during the slow-growth era are helping to catapult new parties into the limelight.

They're angry at stagnant wages, high taxes, expensive essentials (eg rice) and - in some cases - foreigners.

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 5

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Postwar Japanese politics has been dominated by the Liberal Democratic Party - rarely out of power since 1955.

Things have been rocky for them since the 1990s - slow growth, epic corruption - but Japan’s opposition parties have struggled to unite and impress.

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 5

For someone not previously much interested in Japanese politics, the last few weeks and months have been fascinating - and maybe historic.

A short 🧵 for anyone curious about what's going on.

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Chris Harding | Japanese History @drchrisharding.bsky.social · Sep 5

A side to Japan that not many people have seen - even if they've heard of @yokoono.bsky.social

Fascinating stuff!

Engelsberg Ideas @engelsbergideas.bsky.social · Sep 5

Inside Japan’s avant-garde | @drchrisharding.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/reviews/insi...

Inside Japan's avant-garde

A creative tension between the trauma of war and the allure of Americanised, postwar life lay at the heart of the Japanese avant-garde. Its artists' compelling work continues to shock, haunt, and mesm...

engelsbergideas.com

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