Feminism against Japan’s Military Sexual Violence

Abstract

I find a new form of feminism in the activist narratives and analyze its nature by following the theorization of Ōgoshi Aiko, a feminist scholar in philosophy, who has maintained personal contacts with activists, including the late Matsui Yayori. This feminism, which I call JMSV feminism, differs from global feminism in that it has achieved transnational solidarity based on the realization that women are differentiated by power relations, not based on the discourse of universal womanhood promoted by global feminism. JMSV feminism is a form of critical transnational feminism characterized by postcolonial historical consciousness; intersectionality; transnational solidarity; mutual transformation; and the centrality of survivors. JMSV activists have demonstrated how feminists of a former colonial empire may develop an ethical relationship with underprivileged women by listening to their voices with moral humility. They also suggest that feminism is effective when it intersects with other kinds of activism.