Revolution or redress? The history of Fanon in Japan

The reception of Fanon in Japan was framed by responses to the decolonisation of Africa and Asia, Japanese leftists’ critique of capitalism and European colonialism, and reflections on Japan’s past. The Algerian War, a reminder of Japan’s history as the coloniser and ‘civiliser’ of Asia, brought Fanon to Japanese intellectuals’ attention. Two competing claims on his work appeared in the 1960s. In one, Fanon was a theorist of insurrection; in the other, an analyst of the mechanisms of colonial domination. The two views emerged clearly in disputes over the translation of Fanon that reflected different goals for political practice. The complex history of Fanon in Japan, then, is an opportunity to reflect on the reception of his work elsewhere and Fanon’s potential for political practice in a different geopolitical era.