Towards Acquiring Alternatives to the Practice of Governing the Body: The Issue of “aging social movements” as a Starting Point for Consideration

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to rethink how not only the participants of social movement, but also journalists and scholars have directed their eye gaze towards “others.” This essay analyzes the experience of the “elderly” who have engaged with the Okinawa Issue in both Okinawa and Tokyo. It attempts to consider the process of seeking a way to govern their own bodies, languages, and feelings in order to avoid being absorbed into the politics of the nation-state. By examining these experiences in retrospect, one can observe the ramifications resulting from the birth of new ways in the governing of the body, especially for the “young” and the majority of the local populace—who have been observed to be content with their “safe” position despite the exclusion of others from their society.