Dr Rin Ushiyama

Rin Ushiyama is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge, and a Research Fellow in Sociology at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge.

His latest research focuses on the historical development and transformation of Japanese nationalist movements over the past three decades to the present day and how the right have commemorated Japan’s colonial and wartime actions. The project aims to map out connections between neo-nationalist public intellectuals, religious organisations, political parties, and activist groups inside and outside Japan using social network analysis. In particular, he is interested in how Japanese migrant communities and ethnic Japanese (‘nikkei’) diasporas engage in commemorative practices in the reproduction of ethnic and national identities. His research explores tensions between various East Asian diasporas (Japanese, Korean, and Chinese) around the world over the commemoration of Japan’s colonial and wartime legacy, as well as potential links between the Japanese government and diasporic nationalist organisations.