Religion, State, and Political Culture in Japan

Implications for the Post-Secular World

Tokihisa Sumimoto

Japan had developed a secular civilization long before going through its modern period, characterized by the officially-sanctioned unification of nationalism and state-worship that reached its apotheosis during World War II, followed by the economic growth-oriented post-war period. While the relationship between religion and state has varied significantly over time, what has been consistently observed throughout Japan’s history is the absence of religions that are socially influential but independent from the state, or the absence of a dualistic relationship between religion and state. The kind of political ethos that should underpin democratic principles such as the rule of law and human rights has remained underdeveloped.

This book examines the concept of “reconstructive postmodernism,” a perspective that has emerged from a normative approach to international relations that emphasizes the need to democratize and humanize the secularistic civilizations based on the reconstruction of spirituality and religiosity. Using this concept, this book offers a number of implications of its findings to the case of Japan and for global governance in the post-secular age more broadly.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 182 • Trim: 5¾ x 8¾

978-1-78660-594-8 • Hardback • November 2023 • $125.00 • (£96.00)

978-1-78660-595-5 • eBook • November 2023 • $45.00 • (£35.00)

Series: Critical Perspectives on Religion in International Politics

Subjects: Political Science / World / Asian, Social Science / Sociology of Religion, Religion / RELIGION / Politics & State

Religion, State, and Political Culture in Japan

Implications for the Post-Secular World

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Japan had developed a secular civilization long before going through its modern period, characterized by the officially-sanctioned unification of nationalism and state-worship that reached its apotheosis during World War II, followed by the economic growth-oriented post-war period. While the relationship between religion and state has varied significantly over time, what has been consistently observed throughout Japan’s history is the absence of religions that are socially influential but independent from the state, or the absence of a dualistic relationship between religion and state. The kind of political ethos that should underpin democratic principles such as the rule of law and human rights has remained underdeveloped.

This book examines the concept of “reconstructive postmodernism,” a perspective that has emerged from a normative approach to international relations that emphasizes the need to democratize and humanize the secularistic civilizations based on the reconstruction of spirituality and religiosity. Using this concept, this book offers a number of implications of its findings to the case of Japan and for global governance in the post-secular age more broadly.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 182 • Trim: 5¾ x 8¾

978-1-78660-594-8 • Hardback • November 2023 • $125.00 • (£96.00)

978-1-78660-595-5 • eBook • November 2023 • $45.00 • (£35.00)

Series: Critical Perspectives on Religion in International Politics

Subjects: Political Science / World / Asian, Social Science / Sociology of Religion, Religion / RELIGION / Politics & State

Author

Tokihisa Sumimoto is the Founding Director of the Tokyo Institute for Global Peace and Humanity. He received his Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University, New York, and Doctor of Philosophy from Soka University, Tokyo. He has published articles in the International Journal of Peace Studies.

Table of Contents

Introduction / 1. Religiosity in Japan / 2. Modern Japan’s Political Culture: Versions of Statism and Comparisons of Ideas / 3. Historical Relations: Post-War Japan / 4. Political Culture in Contemporary Japan and Implications for Global Governance / Conclusion

Reviews

This is not only a potent study of historical and current relationships between religious belief and democratic culture in Japan, but also a powerful solvent for blithe assumptions about secularisation, there and in the wider world. In addition, it offers a considered response to how we might achieve more humane forms of global governance.

— Jim Whitman, General Editor, Palgrave Global Issues series

A fascinating and illuminating inquiry into strengthening democracy in postwar Japan by the selective infusion of religious and spiritual revitalization in a political setting that Sumimoto creatively portrays as ‘a post-secular world.’ Although the focus is on overcoming statist absolutism arising from Japanese pre-1945 experience with religiously endowed emperor worship, the book is greatly enriched by comparative national studies and by valuable commentary on the relevance of religion to humane global governance. Reading this book is an intellectually exciting and challenging learning experience.

— Richard A. Falk, Albert G. Milbank Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University