Biopolitics and necropolitics during the pandemic from a gender perspective: The case of contemporary Japan

要旨

Biopolitics and necropolitics during the pandemic from a gender perspective: The case of contemporary Japan
ジェンダーからパンデミック下の生政治・死政治を考える: 現代日本の場合
Written by Takeda Hiroko
Translation by Klemens Bardakji and Simon Kaiser

This paper discusses the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on many women in Japan, as evident in the rapid increase in the number of female suicides in 2020. This is due to structural issues in Japan and due to problems related to the capitalist economy and the governance system of the states that manage it. For this reason, this paper attempts to contribute to the discussion about “governmentality”, understood as a governance system aimed at maintaining and developing the continuous operation of the capitalist economic system by shaping and caring for individuals and the entire population, by introducing the concept of “necropolitics” presented by Achille Mbembe. Mbembes concept of “necropolitics” brings to light a point, which was not clearly addressed in existing discussions about “governmentality”: That in the process of the development of a capitalist economy so-called “abandoned people” have been created. Furthermore, this article examines the case of Japan as an advanced capitalist society, showcasing that neoliberalism develops, as a political project, in a distinct fashion, and examines why "biopolitics" and “necropolitics” progress in Japan, especially in relation to “gender”