Japan is currently undergoing many interesting changes, which the Japanese government trumpets as fundamental reform, but which some observers suspect will turn out to be superficial, part of a long sequence of changes which have been much less far-reaching than at first anticipated. This book provides a survey of the many changes currently in progress in Japan, including political reform, economic deregulation and liberalisation, and reforms to environmental policy, science and technology, education, and immigration policy. The essays in this volume explore the reform process in Japan overall, and provides a thorough overview of major current developments in Japan.

An incomparable description of Japan in all its material, spiritual uniqueness and complexity.

Ichiro Hori's is the first book in Western literature to portray how Shinto, Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist elements, as well as all manner of archaic magical beliefs and practices, are fused on the folk level. Folk religion, transmitted by the common people from generation to generation, has greatly conditioned the political, economic, and cultural development of Japan and continues to satisfy the emotional and religious needs of the people. Hori examines the organic relationship between the Japanese social structure—the family kinship system, village and community organizations—and folk religion. A glossary with Japanese characters is included in the index.

In the Japanese language the word ‘ie’ denotes both the materiality of homes and family relations within. The traditional family and family house - often portrayed in ideal terms as key foundations of Japanese culture and society - have been subject to significant changes in recent years. This book comprehensively addresses various aspects of family life and dwelling spaces, exploring how homes, household patterns and kin relations are reacting to contemporary social, economic and urban transformations, and the degree to which traditional patterns of both houses and households are changing. The book contextualises the shift from the hegemonic post-war image of standard family life, to the nuclear family and to a situation now where Japanese homes are more likely to include unmarried singles; childless couples; divorcees; unmarried adult children and elderly relatives either living alone or in nursing homes. It discusses how these new patterns are both reinforcing and challenging typical understandings of Japanese family life.

This edited collection analyzes the innovative changes in Japan’s foreign policy. Pursuing new relationships with South Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe, Japanese initiatives include regional peace-building and human security activities, Asian multilateralism, and the Indo-Pacific concept. This collection focuses on these evolving international relationships through Japan’s unique approach to political change and continuity.

Original research on the changing roles of women in Japan and Korea.

In this book, Helen Yu-Rivera challenges the conventional use of written documents in delineating the course of Philippines-Japan relations. Using editorial cartoons, the author proves that pictorial documents are potentially as rich in information as written documents. This book highlights the perspective of the popular press instead of the commonly solicited viewpoints of policy makers. More importantly, the author reads the editorial cartoons as symbolic language where images and text reveal more than what they signify at a cursory glance. By so doing, the author has identified, interpreted, and analyzed different levels of synthesis used to represent the Japanese in Philippine editorial cartoons of this period. While many of the symbols used were reflective of the inherent tensions in Philippines-Japan relations, factors such as conventions of the medium of cartooning, individual styles, and personal interpretation also significantly affected the occurrence, change, and continuity of the images.