Politics in Murakami

 There are a number of Murakami's works that feel incredibly detached from any sort of politics. This sort of detachment from politics can help his works fit into the genre of magical realism more, as the story is less grounded in a reality that we all know and have opinions on. However, there are a number of Murakami works that heavily feature politics (like Norwegian Wood). Murakami is also not a particularly apolitical person, as he hasn't hesitated to publicly state his political opinions in the past. Not only has he spoken out against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but he has criticized the Japanese prime minister for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and condemned Japan for its role in World War II and imperialism. He's even won the Jerusalem Prize, which is awarded for themes of human rights and freedom in literature. 

However, when reading his works, all of it feels apolitical. Even if you're used to reading critically to discern potential biases from the author, the reader through the narrating protagonist feels separate from the politics. Things like the protagonist not participating in the 9-5 office job culture are inherently political, but they don't feel that way when you read them. It's tempting to call the works as a whole apolitical at first. Even when characters like Watanabe interact with real-world politics and technically do have opinions on current events, but since the narrators are not emotionally invested so much in what's happening, it feels distant from the reader. Even when Watanabe's university lectures are interrupted by protesters and his classes are eventually shut down, he simply shrugs in a very shouganai attitude. 

Juliana