ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the carnivalesque politics of the April demonstration. It discusses the 'mood of self-restraint' that pervaded Tokyo after the compound disaster. The chapter explains how the festive style of the demonstration enabled many residents to express their reactions to the disaster freely, and produced a feeling of liberation and emotional release. It also explains the origins of the 'sound demonstration' style in the movement against the US-led 'war on terror' in the early 2000s. The chapter shows how these practices were deployed at the April Genpatsu Yamero demonstration, further developing the idea of protest as a space of liberation. It explores the origins of Shiroto no Ran and their development of festive protest as a means of demonstrating against poverty and social exclusion in post-industrial Tokyo. The chapter examines the anti-consumerist politics of Shiroto no Ran and provides a broader critique of the political and economic structures that bought cheap electricity into the city to fuel consumer capitalism.
