Linda Hoaglund

Brooklyn

Other/Almost

I recently completed a documentary film about the national uprising in Japan in 1960. The uprising was against the prime minister, Kishi, who was trying to extend the treaty keeping U.S. military bases in Japan. He was also, as we know now, from Tim Weiner's Legacy of Ashes, a WWII war criminal on the C.I.A. payroll. From May 19th to June 19th of 1960, millions of Japanese demonstrated everyday, joining in the streets to form the same kind of instant alliances that people in Egypt are finding. The history of this revolution is not taught in Japanese schools, which I attended as an American missionary's daughter. However, it was a watershed moment in postwar history. Because it failed, the U.S. still maintains over 90 military bases throughout Japan and their presence remains controversial.

In the case of Japan, the government saw the amazing energy of the people and decided to redirect that national energy into the economy. This is how the Japanese "economic miracle" was born. The corruption of the prime minister and his C.I.A. backed party was so thorough that it disillusioned many Japanese to the idea that Japan was a "real democracy." The fallout from their disillusionment can still be felt today as a deep cynicism towards the electoral process and politicians.