‘Look at me!’: Yonezu Tomoko and the politics of intersectionality in post-war Japan

This article examines Yonezu Tomoko as a case study of intersectional activism in post-war Japan. Focusing on the period 1968–1977, from the student movement through ūman ribu and its dissolution, it demonstrates how activists navigating multiple marginalised identities can generate analytical frameworks that transcend single-axis coalition building. Her intersectional positioning at the nexus of gender and disability enabled unique insights into Japan’s biopolitical framework, facilitating coalition work across previously separated constituencies. The conclusion traces how these frameworks persisted in Yonezu’s subsequent organising, demonstrating the durability of ribu’s intersectional insights. Employing biographical analysis alongside intersectionality theory, this study positions Yonezu as an exemplar of how disabled women’s perspectives prove crucial in advancing reproductive justice discourse beyond single-axis frameworks. Her case reveals how lived experiences of systematic exclusion, when politicised through sustained activism, expose broader structures of oppression and generate enduring critiques of marginalisation. Yonezu’s trajectory within ribu offers valuable insights for understanding how intersectional consciousness emerged organically within the student movement and ūman ribu.