In Between the First and the Third World: Japanese Perception of Third Worldism in the Global Sixties

This paper explores how Japanese activists conceived of Third Worldism and linked themselves both cognitively and physically with movements in non-western regions during the late 1960s to early 1970s. As in many other Western movements, Third Worldism had a significant impact on social movements in Japan in the 1960s, especially on their radicalization. However, a key characteristic of the Japanese case was the ambiguous position of the region within the Three-World Model, which divide the world into the First, Second, and Third World. During a time when the Three-World Model was compelling, the term First World was generally related with the west, while the Third World described the non-west. However, Japan failed to be categorized in this clear distinction; in late 1960s, Japan was arguably the only non-western society in the First World region. This paper therefore explores the ways in which this unique position of Japan regarding the Three-World Model has affected Japanese activists’ recognition of Third Worldism.

To do this, I will examine how Third Worldism was imported into Japan through print media and how activists from civic movement s(e.g. Beheiren) and radical movements (e.g. Reoburto group) who were engaged in transnational activisms in Japan conceived of Third Worldism and identified themselves within the Three-World model. I find that, whether in the civic or radical movements, what was common among Japanese activists who took Third Worldism seriously was how they were particularly concerned about ethics while they attempted to incorporate Third Worldism within their activism or within themselves. They sought to go beyond solidarity with the Third World movement as external actors from the First World, and to instead look internally for Third World elements within themselves in an attempt to connect themselves on the same ground with the Third World.