Speaker: Simon Avenell

Abstract

Generationalism in Japan: Leave Them Kids (and Retirees) Alone!

Simon Avenell, Australian National University

How do generational discourses shape public debate in Japan and what are the effects on targeted groups like the elderly and youth? This talk raises some preliminary questions about the phenomenon of generationalism—one of the last socially sanctioned forms of discrimination. On the one hand, conservatives consistently warn Japanese about the dual demographic crises of ageing and fertility facing their country. In the process the elderly and youth are demonized. On the other, progressives lament the political apathy of youth born of their disadvantaged social situation. Some present youth with solutions for escaping their conundrum. While different in intent, both positions often rely on paternalistic generational assumptions with potentially debilitating effects. Given this, the talk considers the traps of generationalism and how they might be avoided. It also ponders a democratic praxis beyond generationalism.

Short bio

Name	Prof. Dr. Simon Avenell
Position	Professor, Associate Dean
Affiliation	Australian National University, School of Culture, History & Language; College of Asia and the Pacific
Research focus	modern Japanese history, postwar Japan (1945), civic activism, civil society, environmental history, and transnational history
relevant Publications	Avenell, Simon. 2024. „Japanese International NGOs in Asia: The Reflexive Outcomes of Regional Activism.“ In: Akihiro Ogawa und Anthony J. Spires (Hg.), Varieties of Civil Society Across Asia. Oxford und New York: Routledge (Routledge Contemporary Asia Series), 180–190. Avenell, Simon (Ed.). 2023. Reconsidering Postwar Japanese History: A Handbook. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. Avenell, Simon. 2022. Asia and Postwar Japan: Deimperialization, Civic Activism, and National Identity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center. Avenell, Simon and Ogawa, Akihiro (Ed.) 2021. Transnational Civil Society in Asia: The Potential of Grassroots Regionalization. London: Routledge. Avenell, Simon. 2010. Making Japanese Citizens. Civil Society and the Mythology of the Shimin in Postwar Japan. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.