Is Shinto Politics? The Influence of Shinto in Today’s Japan
Wednesday 8 February 2017 / 16:00 - 17:30 /
Stockholm ISDP. Västra Finnbodav. 2, 13130 Stockholm. Click here for a map
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When Prime Minister Abe Shinzo invited the leaders of the G7 nations to visit Ise Shrine in May 2016 it was only the latest sign of the close relationship that has developed between Abe’s ruling faction of the LDP and the Shinto establishment of Japan. Through political organizations such as the Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership and the Japan Conference, organized Shinto today exerts a degree of influence over policy making in Japan that is unprecedented in the postwar era. In his presentation, Ernils Larsson will discuss a number of significant events from the last few years that have led some to question whether there is a return to Shinto inspired nationalism in Japan.
Ernils Larsson is a PhD candidate in the History of religions at Uppsala University. His research focuses on how Shinto is conceptualized as something other than religion in legal and political discourse in Japan.