{"title":"阴谋论与 COVID-19 在日本的流行:大和Q会的崛起、激进化和衰落(?","authors":"Yoko Demelius, Kamila Szczepanska","doi":"10.1093/ssjj/jyae003","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\n This article investigates how conspiracy theories, spirituality, and resistance against pandemic-mitigation measures became intertwined during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis in Japan. Utilizing selected concepts from social movement theories (SMT), this case study-driven exploratory analysis focuses on the activities of YamatoQ-kai, a civil society organization that originated in a group of conspiracy-theory influencers and whose activities included the dissemination of an anti-immunization agenda. By analysing online posts on the organization’s homepage and journalistic reports on the organization, the article illuminates the underlying implications of the conspiracy theorists’ activism and demonstrates how the group adopted QAnon’s conspiracy rhetoric whilst taking a Japanized form. Second, it explains YamatoQ’s pivotal place amongst the Japanese societal actors espousing vaccine-hesitant attitudes. Finally, it shows how the group—as an unconventional case of conspirituality—created tangible experiences for followers and demonstrates the affective impact of group solidarity. In this way, the article’s findings contribute to closing the research gaps in scholarship on conspiracy theories, vaccine scepticism, and conspirituality.","PeriodicalId":44320,"journal":{"name":"Social Science Japan Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Conspiracy theories and the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: The rise, radicalization, and fall (?) of YamatoQ-kai\",\"authors\":\"Yoko Demelius, Kamila Szczepanska\",\"doi\":\"10.1093/ssjj/jyae003\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"\\n This article investigates how conspiracy theories, spirituality, and resistance against pandemic-mitigation measures became intertwined during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis in Japan. Utilizing selected concepts from social movement theories (SMT), this case study-driven exploratory analysis focuses on the activities of YamatoQ-kai, a civil society organization that originated in a group of conspiracy-theory influencers and whose activities included the dissemination of an anti-immunization agenda. By analysing online posts on the organization’s homepage and journalistic reports on the organization, the article illuminates the underlying implications of the conspiracy theorists’ activism and demonstrates how the group adopted QAnon’s conspiracy rhetoric whilst taking a Japanized form. Second, it explains YamatoQ’s pivotal place amongst the Japanese societal actors espousing vaccine-hesitant attitudes. Finally, it shows how the group—as an unconventional case of conspirituality—created tangible experiences for followers and demonstrates the affective impact of group solidarity. In this way, the article’s findings contribute to closing the research gaps in scholarship on conspiracy theories, vaccine scepticism, and conspirituality.\",\"PeriodicalId\":44320,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Social Science Japan Journal\",\"volume\":null,\"pages\":null},\"PeriodicalIF\":1.2000,\"publicationDate\":\"2024-07-13\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Social Science Japan Journal\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"90\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1093/ssjj/jyae003\",\"RegionNum\":4,\"RegionCategory\":\"社会学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"AREA STUDIES\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Social Science Japan Journal","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/ssjj/jyae003","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"AREA STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
Conspiracy theories and the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: The rise, radicalization, and fall (?) of YamatoQ-kai
This article investigates how conspiracy theories, spirituality, and resistance against pandemic-mitigation measures became intertwined during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis in Japan. Utilizing selected concepts from social movement theories (SMT), this case study-driven exploratory analysis focuses on the activities of YamatoQ-kai, a civil society organization that originated in a group of conspiracy-theory influencers and whose activities included the dissemination of an anti-immunization agenda. By analysing online posts on the organization’s homepage and journalistic reports on the organization, the article illuminates the underlying implications of the conspiracy theorists’ activism and demonstrates how the group adopted QAnon’s conspiracy rhetoric whilst taking a Japanized form. Second, it explains YamatoQ’s pivotal place amongst the Japanese societal actors espousing vaccine-hesitant attitudes. Finally, it shows how the group—as an unconventional case of conspirituality—created tangible experiences for followers and demonstrates the affective impact of group solidarity. In this way, the article’s findings contribute to closing the research gaps in scholarship on conspiracy theories, vaccine scepticism, and conspirituality.
期刊介绍:
Social Science Japan Journal is a new forum for original scholarly papers on modern Japan. It publishes papers that cover Japan in a comparative perspective and papers that focus on international issues that affect Japan. All social science disciplines (economics, law, political science, history, sociology, and anthropology) are represented. All papers are refereed. The journal includes a book review section with substantial reviews of books on Japanese society, written in both English and Japanese. The journal occasionally publishes reviews of the current state of social science research on Japanese society in different countries.