I'm honored to have just been added to the Association for Asian Studies' Distinguished Speakers Bureau. Happy to join a list of stellar scholars. www.asianstudies.org/grants-award...

NEAC Distinguished Speakers Bureau — Japan Speakers - Association for Asian Studies

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asianstudies.org

Beginning my month at the University of Manchester, where I'm a visiting professor. A busy and exciting series of seminars and presentations on deck: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Welcome to Humanities at The University of Manchester, Professor Levi McLaughlin! Levi is a Simon Visiting Professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures. He will contribute to a… | Eri...

Welcome to Humanities at The University of Manchester, Professor Levi McLaughlin! Levi is a Simon Visiting Professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures. He will contribute to a worksh...

linkedin.com

I was interviewed by a reporter from the French newspaper La Croix about the the legal dissolution of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (Unification Church). It's mostly behind a paywall, alas, but the coverage is clear and helpful. www.la-croix.com/internationa...

Japon : la « dissolution juridique » de la secte Moon confirmée par la justice

La Haute Cour de Tokyo a confirmé début mars 2026 la dissolution juridique de l’Église de l’unification, dans le viseur des autorités depuis l’assassinat de l’ex-premier ministre Shinzo Abe. Ses dirig...

la-croix.com

Coming up on Friday, I'll be speaking at Harvard about my recent work on religion/politics intersections in Japan. If you're in Boston/Cambridge, come on down: rijs.fas.harvard.edu/ja/node/1423

On Tuesday, I'll be speaking at the University of Toronto on religion and politics in contemporary Japan. Plenty of fresh insights drawn from the past two months I've spent with activists within Soka Gakkai, Nippon Kaigi, and the Unification Church: munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/religi...

Religion and Politics in Japan Today: New Perspectives from Grassroots-Level Activists

munkschool.utoronto.ca

On March 6th, I'll be speaking at Harvard about recent upheavals in Japan and why we must attend to religion to fully comprehend realignments now taking shape within Japanese politics. Thanks to Paula Kolata for making this event happen: rijs.fas.harvard.edu/events/relig...

On 2/24 I'll be at the University of Toronto to speak how religion-affiliated activists are influencing recent changes in Japanese politics. Sincere thanks to Phillip Lipscy for making this happen: munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/religi...

Religion and Politics in Japan Today: New Perspectives from Grassroots-Level Activists

munkschool.utoronto.ca

Commentary | Levi McLaughlin raises questions about Japan's uncertain politics/religion future as new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's support for Shinto-linked nationalists alienates erstwhile Liberal Democratic Party allies in the Sokka Gakkai-backed Kōmeitō criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...

Commentary | Levi McLaughlin, Sanae Takaichi and Japan’s Uncertain Politics/Religion Future — Critical Asian Studies

Local-Level Religious Activists Recently Upended Japan’s Political Order Japan ranks among the least religious countries in the world—according to recent survey data, as many as 80% or 90% of respon...

criticalasianstudies.org

I've put a few thoughts together on religious dimensions of recent political upheavals in Japan. These are now up on Critical Asian Studies. criticalasianstudies.org/commentary/2...

Commentary | Levi McLaughlin, Sanae Takaichi and Japan’s Uncertain Politics/Religion Future — Critical Asian Studies

Local-Level Religious Activists Recently Upended Japan’s Political Order Japan ranks among the least religious countries in the world—according to recent survey data, as many as 80% or 90% of respon...

criticalasianstudies.org

🎉 Just published! JAPAN DECIDES 2024! The most comprehensive analysis and interpretation of last year's general election in Japan––which saw the ruling LDP lose its seat majority and presaged further upheaval in 2025. E-book: link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

Japan Decides 2024

This book provides a coherent overall explanation for understanding in the election in both historical and comparative perspective

link.springer.com

When there's a Japan's House of Representatives race (Lower House), where the Prime Minister sits, a team of political scientists puts together a volume in the Japan Decides series (published by Springer) to cover the election's lead-up and results (thread) link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

Japan Decides 2024

This book provides a coherent overall explanation for understanding in the election in both historical and comparative perspective

link.springer.com

n the coming days, I'll be working on a proper op-ed reflecting on the political upheaval triggered by Komeito's split with its long-time Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) partner. In the meantime, I'll share some updates (thread)

Now this is a sign of political shifts: on Komeito's YouTube and Instagram pages, party leader Saitō Tetsuo meets with Kamei Shizuka, veteran LDP politician and leader within the Shigatsukai (April Society), a movement once aimed at Komeito and Soka Gakkai. www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8nZ...

【激白】「私は公明党を潰そうとした...」反公明のドン・亀井静香が語る公明党潰しの真実とは！？

YouTube video by 公明党のサブチャンネル

youtube.com

In a free edition of the Japan Daily Briefing — I’m starting “free Fridays” — I look more at the causes and effects of Kōmeitō’s break with the LDP and discuss Ishiba’s reflections on the eightieth anniversary of the end of World War II. open.substack.com/pub/observin...

The end of the coalition | Japan Daily Briefing

As the coalition breaks, Ishiba delivers an impassioned defense of democracy

open.substack.com

Friends in Soka Gakkai have been circulating this analysis by Ide Eisaku, Keio University economist, which breaks down policy resonances between Komeito, Soka Gakkai, Japan's most powerful union, and opposition parties (thread to follow): www.facebook.com/share/p/17Aq...

Japan, ostensibly one of the least religious countries in the world, had its political order upended by the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai. That is THE story about Friday's epochal shift in Japanese politics (thread follows):

Big upheaval in Japanese politics. Today (Japan time), after a ninety minute meeting between Saitō, head of Komeito, and Takaichi, the LDP politician who recently won her party’s presidency, Saitō announced an end to their parties’ 26-year-long coalition agreement.

Tensions between the LDP and Komeito have been building over recent years, but Japan's ruling coalition has hit a crucial stage. The combo of Takaichi at the helm, plummeting election results for Komeito, a Soka Gakkai base that's facing its own existential crises after Ikeda Daisaku...a new era.

Tobias Harris@tobiasharris.bsky.social · 10mo ago

With the LDP and Kōmeitō at odds, sharing my conversation with @levimclaughlin.bsky.social from after the upper house elections. observingjapan.substack.com/p/the-past-p...

I'm under no illusions that what publish isn't feeding the AI beast no matter the measures we take, but I've deleted everything I uploaded to academia.edu and I've erased my account there. Even by today's dystopian standards, academia.edu's new terms and conditions are beyond the pale.

Academia.edu - Find Research Papers, Topics, Researchers

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Always a pleasure to speak with Tobias. Enjoyed our conversation:

Tobias Harris@tobiasharris.bsky.social · last yr.

One of the most important developments in Japan’s upper house elections was the continuing decline of Kōmeitō, the LDP’s junior coalition partner. I talked with @levimclaughlin.bsky.social about the party’s decline and the future of its role in Japanese politics. open.substack.com/pub/observin...

I'm quoted a bunch in this SCMP piece released before polls closed on the Upper House race now being counted in Japan. This is a crucial point for the governing Liberal Democratic Party / Komeito coalition. www.scmp.com/week-asia/po...

Japan upper house election: Ishiba accepts ‘harsh result’, says to stay on as PM

The ruling LDP-led coalition is likely to lose its majority in the upper house, with exit polls projecting it may only win 41 seats.

scmp.com

On Sunday, I'll be on "Sunday," the BBC Radio 4 show about religion, providing context about the Unification Church in Japan following the Tokyo District Court's decision to remove legal status from the group. Just after 7 am live in the UK, then maybe at this link: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

BBC Radio 4 - Sunday

A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week

bbc.co.uk

On March 12, I'll join a conference at the University of Bristol that reflects on the 3.11 disasters in Japan. The conference brings together artists and scholars and includes screenings of documentaries by French and Japanese documentarians. theartofrecovery.blogs.bristol.ac.uk

Here is a question for political scientists. Japan's national-level coalition partnership between the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito is almost a quarter century old. Is there another example in the world of two parties that have lasted this long in coalition without merging or splitting?

Wonderful to see the book in person. I edited the section on “politics and governance” for the brand new New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions. This is an invaluable resource for religions in Japan, and for religious studies more generally.

The Berkley Center at Georgetown just published a short essay I wrote: "In Religion-Averse Japan, a Religion-Backed Party Remains Pivotal." I wrote this and then Komeito got hammered in the October election. However, I think what I write here holds true. berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/posts/in-rel...

Tomorrow: This talk at UCLA. international.ucla.edu/buddhist/eve...

How Japanese Buddhists Tried to Make Bad Kids Good

Prof. Jolyon Thomas (University of Pennsylvania) will speak about Japanese anxieties about youths in the 1950s and 1960s and the attempt to use Buddhist teachings in public schools to help develop a m...

international.ucla.edu

Okay, for real. T-shirts and other merch for touring soloists in the classical music world. But with badass designs, and maybe dates if they’re on a coherent tour. I’d buy the shit out of an Augustin Hadelich hoodie, man.

Looking forward to #AARSBL. I'll be on a panel with Jackie Stone, Yulia Burenina, and Bruce Winkelman titled "Rebuking Error, Inverting Authority, and Transforming Institutions: Remonstration in the Nichiren Buddhist Tradition." Seems apt to analyze remonstration and religious friction...

Ppl making academia account starter packs r my heroes, thank you for the invisible service 🥹 I will try to share relevant starter packs below ⬇️🧵