Jeffrey "Jeff" Kingston (born June 26, 1957) is an American professor at

Temple University, Japan Campus Temple University, Japan Campus (Abbreviated: TUJ, Japanese: テンプル大学ジャパンキャンパス) is an international campus of Temple University (located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States). TUJ has classrooms and student fac ...

in Tokyo and an author. He has written a number of books, wrote regularly for ''The Japan Times'', and frequently comments on Asian affairs in mass media outlets.

Early life and studies

He graduated with a BS in foreign service from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1979. He then completed an MA in international affairs in 1981 and a PhD in history, both from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Academic career

Kingston was the founding director of Asian Studies at Temple University, Japan Campus in Tokyo.

Writing

Kingston has published a number of academic volumes about Japan, nationalism, religion, and civil society in Asia. He started writing for ''The Japan Times'' in 1988, and had a weekly column called "Counterpoint" from 2013 until 2017. He has contributed opinion pieces to ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

Nikkei Asian Review ''Nikkei Asia'', known as ''Nikkei Asian Review'' between 2013 and 2020, is a major Japan-based English-language weekly news magazine focussed on the Asian continent, although it also covers broader international developments. It is headquartere ...

'', ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', and '' The Mekong Review.'' He also writes for '' The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus''.

Views

Kingston has been a consistent critic of Japanese Prime Minister

Shinzō Abe Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...

and his moves to amend

Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution is a clause in the national Constitution of Japan outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes involving the state. The Constitution came into effect on 3 May 1947, following World War II. In its text, the state formally renounces th ...

, which restricts Japan's military and on Abe's historical revisionism about

Japanese war crimes The Empire of Japan committed war crimes in many Asian-Pacific countries during the period of Japanese militarism, Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Second Sino-Japanese and Pacific Wars. These incidents have b ...

.Kingston, Jef
Abe’s revisionism and Japan’s divided war memories August 22, 2015
''

Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'' Retrieved September 23, 2015

Bibliography

Books written

* ''The Politics of Religion, Nationalism, and Identity in Asia'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019) * ''Japan'' (Polity Press, 2019) * ''Contemporary Japan: History, Politics and Social Change Since the 1980s'' (2010)(2012) * ''Japan in transformation 1952–2000'' (2010) * ''Kokka Saisei'' (Hayakawa 2005) * ''Japan's quiet transformation: Social change and civil society in the 21st century'' (2004)

Edited volumes

* ''Japan in Transformation 1945-2010'' (Pearson, 2021) * ''Press Freedom in Contemporary Japan'' (Routledge, 2017) * ''Asian Nationalism since 1945'' (Wiley-Blackwell, 2016) * ''Contemporary Japanese Politics'' (4 volumes) (2013) * ''Natural Disaster and Nuclear Crisis in Japan: Response and Recover After Japan's 3/11'' (2012) * ''Contemporary Japan: History Politics and Social Change Since the 1990s'' (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, 2013) * ''Japan’s Quiet Transformation: Social Change and Civil Society in the 21st Century'' (Routledge 2004)

References

External links

Temple University – Jeff Kingston

The Japan Times – Jeff Kingston
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingston, Jeff 1957 births Living people Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Foreign educators in Japan American emigrants to Japan Japanese-language writers American expatriates in Japan American Japanologists American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni