Top Japanese Marxism expert joins Wuhan University in China

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Mori is an expert in the subject – among his research areas is the unpublished economic writing of Karl Marx, including a collaborative project known as MEGA2 that pulls together the works, manuscripts and correspondence of Marx and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.

South China Morning Post