The Family Register and Anti-Gender Movement in Contemporary Japan

Professor Akiko Shimizu, The University of Tokyo

Date & Time: Friday, 17 April 2026 | 2.00-4.00pm

Venue: AS7 06-42, FASS Shaw Foundation Building, Research Division Seminar Room

Directions: To get to the Research Division Seminar Room, go to Level 6 of the AS7 Shaw Foundation Building and turn right after exiting the lift, going around the corridor past the washrooms. Turn left and you will see the Research Division Seminar Room directly ahead.

About the Talk

This lecture will look at how the call for the social/political/legal recognition of alternative family and partnership in contemporary Japan has evolved, how it has intersected with feminist criticism of marriage, the local conservative politics surrounding the family registry, the global "equal marriage" activism, and both the local and the transnational transgender politics.

About the Speaker

SHIMIZU Akiko (she/her) is Professor of Feminist and Queer Theories at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo. Her research interests include feminist theories of bodies and self-representation; anti-gender movements in Japan; and proximity, fear, and the possibility of coalition.

Date

Friday, 17 April 2026

Time

2.00pm-4.00pm

Venue

In person (Research Division Seminar Room, AS7 06-42)