Bøger i Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies serien

Japan, Internationalism and the UN provides a unique insight into Japan's foreign policy and its related domestic politics. It is the product of a wealth of study and discussion with the Japanese themselves about their place in the world.

Globalizing Japan explores the social and cultural dimensions of Japan's global presence.

The 1889 Meiji constitution: how it actually worked, the establishment of the Diet and the shifting roles and interests of the parties.

The first known detailed study of the early history of the Japanese Diet, providing thorough discussion of the origins of the Japanese parliament and it's development during this formative period. Drawn from primary sources.

An exploration of the dark side to Japanese literature and Japanese society. A wide range of fantasists form the basis for a ground breaking analysis of the fantastic.

Seeking to challenge negative perceptions within Japanese media and politics on the future of the countryside, the contributors to this book present a counter-argument to the inevitable demise of rural society.

The first book-length study to explore the links between Christianity and modern Japanese literature, this book analyses the process of conversion of nine canonical authors, unveiling the influence that Christianity had on their self-construction, their oeuvre and, ultimately, the trajectory of modern Japanese literature.

Dr Beeman unravels anti-monopoly politics in Japan through an analysis of the diverse interests of industry, government, and other parties to reveal how and why anti-monopoly policy has made important inroads yet ultimately failed to gain deep acceptance in Japan.

The first book-length study to explore the links between Christianity and modern Japanese literature, this book analyses the process of conversion of nine canonical authors, unveiling the influence that Christianity had on their self-construction, their oeuvre and, ultimately, the trajectory of modern Japanese literature.

This book examines the nature of Japan's power, showing how its influence on the global stage appears to be shifting from economic and financial to more political and military. Featuring a team of Japanese international relations experts, each chapter analyses the facets of Japanese power, evaluating its current status and the challenges ahead.

This book investigates the connections between socio-structural aspects, individual agency and happiness in contemporary Japan from a life course perspective. The contributors examine empirical data on the processes which impact how happiness and well-being are envisioned, crafted and debated in Japan across the life-cycle. The book discusses the shifting notions of happiness during people¿s lives from birth to death, analyzing the age group-specific experiences while taking into consideration people's life trajectories and historical changes. It points also out recent developments in regards to demographic change, late marriage, and the changing labor market.

This book examines the September 2009-December 2012 administration of the Democratic Party of Japan from various perspectives including policies, party governance and legacy. It identifies the significance of the DPJ to Japan¿s party politics, explains reasons for its downfall and derives crucial lessons for the future of party democracy in Japan.

Over the past two decades, Japan¿s socioeconomic environment has undergone considerable changes Within this context, "freeters" - young part-time workers aged between fifteen and thirty-four who are not housewives or students - have emerged into the public arena as a social problem. This book, drawing on six years of ethnographic research, takes the lives of male freeters as a lens to examine contemporary notions of masculinity and adulthood. It queries how notions of adulthood and masculinity are interwoven and how these ideals are changing in the face of large-scale employment shifts, whilst also considering whether male freeters can become "proper" adult men in contemporary Japan.

This book explores the meanings and practices of "family" in Japan, and brings together research by scholars of literature, gender studies, media and cultural studies, sociology and anthropology. The chapters examine key issues such as ageing, single households, non-heterosexual living arrangements and parenting. Employing both multi- and inter-disciplinary approaches, this book combines textual analysis of contemporary television, film, literature, manga, anime and other media with empirical and ethnographic studies of families in Japan and in transnational spaces.

This book presents a comprehensive analysis of the great transformation of Japanese capitalism from the heights of the 1980s, through the lost decades of the 1990s, and well into the 21st century. It posits an alternative analysis of the Japanese economic trajectory since the early 1980s, and argues that whereas policies inspired by neo-liberalism have been presented as a solution to the Japanese crisis, these policies have in fact been one of the causes of the problems that Japan has faced over the past thirty years.

Various theoretical models attempt to explain the success of Japanese society. This text examines these models and the ways in which they have sometimes been used to create a sense of "Japaneseness", that obscures the fact that Japan is actually an extremely complex and heterogenous society.

Focuses on traditional and religious aspects of Japanese society from an anthropological perspective, presenting new material and making cross-cultural comparisons. Topics include women's role in ritual, mourning and the playing of games.

This book provides the first comprehensive account of the political power of Japanese farmers. It analyses their organisational and electoral bias, the role of agricultural interest groups, and the farm vote.

Explores the societal challenges that voluntary and non-profit organisations face in Japan and evaluates their future impact on Japanese society. Essential for any student of Japanese studies or the international non-profit sector.

Urban Spaces in Japan explores the workings of power, money and the public interest in the planning and design of Japanese space. Through a set of vivid case studies of well-known Japanese cities including Tokyo, Kobe and Kyoto, this book examines the potential of civil society in contemporary planning debates. Further, it addresses the implications of Japan's biggest social problem ¿ the demographic decline ¿ for Japanese cities, and demonstrates the serious challenges and exciting possibilities that result from the impending end of Japan's urban growth.

The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan plunged the country into a state of crisis. As the nation struggled to recover from a record breaking magnitude 9 earthquake and a tsunami that was as high as thirty-eight meters in some places, news trickled out that Fukushima had experienced meltdowns in three reactors. These tragic catastrophes claimed some 20,000 lives, initially displacing some 500,000 people and overwhelming Japan's formidable disaster preparedness. This book brings together the analysis and insights of a group of distinguished experts on Japan to examine what happened, how various institutions and actors responded and what lessons can be drawn from Japan's disaster. The contributors, many of whom experienced the disaster first hand, assess the wide-ranging repercussions of this catastrophe and how it is already reshaping Japanese culture, politics, energy policy, and urban planning.

The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan plunged the country into a state of crisis. As the nation struggled to recover from a record breaking magnitude 9 earthquake and a tsunami that was as high as 38 meters in some places, news trickled out that Fukushima had experienced meltdowns in three reactors. These tragic catastrophes claimed some 20,000 lives, initially displacing some 500,000 people and overwhelming Japans formidable disaster preparedness. This book brings together the analysis and insights of a group of distinguished experts on Japan to examine what happened, how various institutions and actors responded and what lessons can be drawn from Japan¿s disaster. The contributors, many of whom experienced the disaster first hand, assess the wide-ranging repercussions of this catastrophe and how it is already reshaping Japanese culture, politics, energy policy, and urban planning.

This book puts forth a sociology of Japanese youth problems showing that the Japanese media draw on an equally, if not more, perplexing gallery of social categories when it discusses youth than affluent Western societies such as the US or UK and that Japan is no less replete with social problems involving young people and no less capable of generating hysteria over the fate of its youth than affluent Western societies such as the US or UK.