The English-language debut of one of Japan’s most talented contemporary writers, selling over 650,000 copies there, Convenience Store Woman is the heartwarming and surprising story of thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident Keiko Furukura. Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but when at the age of eighteen she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of “Smile Mart,” she finds peace and purpose in her life. In the store, unlike anywhere else, she understands the rules of social interaction—many are laid out line by line in the store’s manual—and she does her best to copy the dress, mannerisms, and speech of her colleagues, playing the part of a “normal” person excellently, more or less. Managers come and go, but Keiko stays at the store for eighteen years. It’s almost hard to tell where the store ends and she begins. Keiko is very happy, but the people close to her, from her family to her coworkers, increasingly pressure her to find a husband, and to start a proper career, prompting her to take desperate action... A brilliant depiction of an unusual psyche and a world hidden from view, Convenience Store Woman is an ironic and sharp-eyed look at contemporary work culture and the pressures to conform, as well as a charming and completely fresh portrait of an unforgettable heroine.

Navigating Japan's Business Culture: A Practical Guide to Succeeding in the Japanese Market delivers clear, specific information to help executives understand and successfully navigate the numerous obstacles that confronted when foreign companies do business in Japan. Unlike "cultural intelligence" books that describe Japanese social etiquette, this book goes straight to the cultural values and social customs entwined in Japanese capitalism that make their capitalism so different from Western capitalism--and therefore can become stumbling blocks for gaining success in the Japanese market. Readers will come away with specific guidance on how to negotiate successfully with your Japanese partner ensure your business will endure for the long term in that market know your Japanese counterpart is telling you "no" when it sounds very much like "yes" capitalize on deeply held Japanese cultural traits in a way to benefit both your company and your partner's company create good business practices that will strengthen your business by drawing on the strong values of Japanese management styles and employee work ethic and much more This book is filled with page-turning practical wisdom from communication goals to negotiating, from product selection for the Japanese market to distribution services, and from management to sales. Azar provides valuable direction by Identifying Japan's culture-based differences in management and business practices to alert Western businesses of these differences Explaining and linking these practices to their cultural roots so that they may be understood in their correct cultural context Delivering guidance for dealing with these differences to create strong, successful, long-term partnerships with their Japanese counterparts. Ignore the important cultural differences highlighted in this book at your own business risk if you are working in or plan to enter the Japanese market. The case studies the author includes underscores the wisdom shared throughout the book. This book will be of interest to and benefit three groups of readers: individuals with professional interests in Japan, such as those in business and government those with an academic interest in Japan, such as teachers and students of both Japanese business and culture the culturally curious and globally minded who are interested in the many diverse cultures that enrich our world

This study is an unique approach to social and cultural history of Japan through the scope of food and food ways. In this book-length study of food markets in the early modern Japanese capital of Edo, Akira Shimizu draws a fascinating picture of early modern Japanese society where specialty foods—seasonal, regional, and hard-to-find delicacies that satisfied the palate of nation’s highest political authority, the shogun—served as a powerful nexus that connected different social groups. In the course of their daily lives, peasants, fisherfolks, and merchants, who made specialty food available at the market, were in constant negotiation with powerful wholesalers and government authorities in charge of procuring specialty foods of the highest qualities for the shogun’s Edo Castle. Utilizing a number of previously unused archival materials that reveals the lives of those at the bottom of the society, the book traces the production, supply, and handling of specialty foods and shows how ordinary people were empowered to assume control over the distribution of specialty food, eventually affecting their procurement for the shogunal kitchen. In doing so, they disrupted the existing market order on the shogunal requisition, and led to the reconfiguration of market relations.

A textbook for students in Japanese, communication, or international studies, assuming no previous background in Japanese language or culture. Donahue (Japanese studies, Nagoya Gakuin U., Japan) first surveys the perceptual barriers to communicating between Japan and North America, then examines the Japanese communication style, differences in discourse, and images of the Japanese in the mass media. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR