Episode 97 - Dr. Hiromi Sasamoto-Collins (Edinburgh)

In this episode, Dr. Sasamoto-Collins notes tension in Japanese society following the Meiji Restoration between authoritarian state power and political dissenters.  We discuss the absolutism of the Meiji state, introduce several prewar political dissidents including Minobe Tatsukichi, map changes in the state/society relationship over the course of modern Japanese history, and question the vibrancy of Japanese civil society today. (Transcript here).