Introduction: Social division and exclusionism in contemporary Japan

It is important to focus on the terms “Bundan” (division) and “Haigaishugi” (exclusionism) in order to understand Japanese society from the late 2010s. In this Introduction, the author conceptualizes the Japanese terms Bundan and Haigaishugi to open up a discussion of the following chapters. Haigaishugi is centered on a series of arguments, practices and movements calling for the exclusion of physical or symbolic others from their respective personal/social/national spaces. In a divided society (Bundan Shakai) where vulnerability is ubiquitous, an exclusionist consciousness of the majority easily manifests as Haigaishugi against minorities because the citizenship of minorities is institutionally mis- or non-recognized, and this legitimizes their representation as an “immoral” or “illegitimate” other. While Haigaishugi is often expressed as a form of nationalism, it does not necessarily always manifest as such. Moreover, racism is also distinguishable from Haigaishugi because it is not always accompanied by the spatial exclusion of others. Through a critical and theoretical examination of contemporary Japanese exclusionism, this book aims to clarify the relationship between Haigaishugi and Bundan Shakai: that exclusionism in a divided society is a consequence of social change in late modernity.