A Study on the Movement for the Establishment of Showa Day: Legislation Promoted by a Religious Group and a Conservative Society

Abstract

This research attempts to examine implications of the revision of Japans National Holiday Law (Kokumin no shukujitsu ni kansuru hōritsu), which determined April 29 as Showa Day (Showa no hi) in 2005, focusing on a civil movement called the Showa Day Network. Their movement for changing the law is analyzed by dividing its activities into four stages: initial preparation, organizational development, legislation support, and post-revision celebration. The campaign, which a religious group had initiated, was subsumed by larger conservative civil groups, and evolved into collective actions involving many conservative individuals. Interestingly, although people sympathizing the movement steadily increased, only a small number of enthusiastic actors were the anchors of the movement. It is partially possible to conclude that creating Showa Day, an anniversary with national narrative of a specific era, was a part of Japans nationalistic trend. However, the campaign process was filled with perseverance and compromise for the Showa Day Network, which is characterized by an emperor-centric mentality. For example, the Japanese society, in 2005, rejected the Shinto religion-related Showa Day, which resulted in a delayed implementation. In addition, the legal significance of Showa Day was neutralized in term of the emperor in order to promote a holiday that was acceptable to the general public. In this sense, people can see Showa Day as a post-modernized anniversary, where no dominant interpretation was allowed. When it comes to democratic procedures in Japan, the recent revisions showed a change in the democratic justification in that it lacked public poll in the legislative process. When compared to similar movements in the 1960s and 1970s for Foundation Day and the reign-name system respectively, the Showa Day bill passed without a grasp of public opinion as a whole. Accomplishments and consequences of the campaign enabled proponents to claim their democratic legitimacy at the Diet. The movement for Showa Day exemplified that bills would pass in a democratic manner even without knowing how many opposing and indifferent people are there. Although polls are merely a reference for legislation, it is likely that the absence of the nationwide poll survey leads to an overestimation of the opinions of groups that try to accomplish their political goals by taking advantage of organizational strength.