A top Chinese university has hired a prominent Marxism expert from Japan to take up a role in its School of Philosophy.
Wuhan University on Thursday said it had appointed Japanese scholar Kenji Mori as a full-time professor at the school.
Marxist theory is a compulsory subject for all undergraduates at Chinese universities, and it is also part of the entrance exam for postgraduate study.
Mori is an expert in the subject – among his research areas is the unpublished economic writing of Karl Marx, including a collaborative project known as MEGA2 that pulls together the works, manuscripts and correspondence of Marx and Friedrich Engels.
Mori was also recognised by the World Association for Political Economy in 2024 for his contributions to theory and methodology in the field.
He has a doctorate from Tohoku University and began his career as a lecturer at Oita University in 1989. He returned to Tohoku University as a professor in 2003 and served as a dean from 2020 to 2022.
The university and Mori could not immediately be reached for comment.
Mori’s appointment comes after Sichuan University’s decision to hire top Japanese archaeologist Kazuo Miyamoto in May – instead of a Chinese expert – drew criticism online. The university later withdrew the announcement.
It also comes weeks after Wuhan University apologised over decorations at an event that resembled Japanese flags. Photos showing rows of white seats adorned with circular red stickers went viral on Chinese social media in September, prompting a backlash and accusations that the university was “worshipping Japan”.
The university said the stickers had been placed on the chairs to guide students and staff – dressed in different colours – to sit in patterns spelling out WHU and 1893, the year the university was founded.
It said on September 19 that its party secretary had been replaced.
China and Japan have long had a strained relationship, particularly over their wartime history and territorial disputes in the East China Sea.
There are particularly deep connections to Marxism at Wuhan University. Its former president, Li Da, was a founding member of China’s ruling Communist Party and one of the first to translate works by Marx into Chinese. Li took up the post at Wuhan University in 1953 while also serving as director of the Marxism Research Office.
Wuhan University is home to one of the country’s top philosophy schools – it was ranked 23rd globally and took the No 1 spot in Asia in this year’s QS World University Rankings. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
