Tomoyuki Sasaki

Tomoyuki Sasaki specializes in history and cultural studies. His research interests cover the society and culture of modern Japan, especially the issues of high-speed economic growth, inequality, uneven development, democracy, military bases, and their representations in popular culture. He is the author of Cinema of Discontent: Representations of Japan's High-Speed Growth (SUNY Press, 2022) and Japan’s Postwar Military and Civil Society: Contesting a Better Life (Bloomsbury Academics, 2015). His articles include “Disquieting Growth: Urban Space in Kawashima Yūzō’s Suzaki Pradise Red Light” (Japan Forum, 2017) and “The Constitution Must Be Defended: Thoughts on the Constitution’s Role in Japan’s Postwar Democracy” (The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, 2018). He also contributed a chapter entitled "Jieitai to shimin shakai" (「自衛隊と市民社会」）to the edited volume Shakai no naka no guntai, guntai to iu shakai (『社会のなかの軍隊／軍隊という社会』) (Iwanami Shoten, 2022). 

He earned his BA and MA from Kobe City University of Foreign Studies, and his PhD from the University of California, San Diego. He held positions at Kalamazoo College and Eastern Michigan University before joining the faculty at William & Mary in 2016. He teaches courses on Cold-War Culture, Japanese Cinema, and the Introduction to Japanese Studies.