The aim of this series is to publish original, high-quality work by both new and established scholars on all aspects of contemporary Japan.
By Christian G. Winkler
September 20, 2013
This book examines the many attempts over the last three decades to revise Japan’s constitution. As the book shows, these attempts at revision have been relatively conservative, aiming to embed in the constitution visions of a different future for Japan. Specific reforms advocated include: enabling...
By Narrelle Morris
September 03, 2013
The aim of this book is to examine and analyse the phenomenon of ‘Japan-bashing’, from its invention and popularisation in the United States in the late 1970s to the emergence of other national variants, including in Australia and Japan, to its gradual decline in the late 1990s. It is the first ...
Edited
By Patrick Heinrich, Christian Galan
June 07, 2013
Despite its monolingual self-image, Japan is multilingual and growing more so due to indigenous minority language revitalization and as an effect of migration. Besides Japan's autochthonous languages such as the Ainu and Ryukyuan languages, there are more than 75,000 immigrant children in the ...
By Christopher Hood
May 03, 2013
Just as the sinking of the Titanic is embedded in the public consciousness in the English-speaking world, so the crash of JAL flight JL123 is part of the Japanese collective memory. The 1985 crash involved the largest loss of life for any single air crash in the world. 520 people, many of whom had ...
Edited
By Janet Hunter, Cornelia Storz
November 14, 2012
Institutional and technological change is a highly topical subject. At the theoretical level, there is much debate in the field of institutional economics about the role of technological change in endogenous growth theory. At a practical policy level, arguments rage about how Japan and the Japanese...
Edited
By Cornelia Storz
November 14, 2012
This new book discusses the extent to which the Japanese economy encourages entrepreneurship and innovation. Although Japan has a strong reputation as an innovator, some people argue that this reputation is misplaced. Contrary to earlier expectations, the USA rather than Japan emerged as the ...
Edited
By David Arase
September 20, 2005
Filling a gap in the existing literature, this book analyzes the distinctive features of Japan’s development aid, especially technical co-operation, in comparison with other donors’ aid. Incorporating a wealth of research, it discusses whether Japan is behind other leading donor countries...
Edited
By Rien T. Segers
September 18, 2012
Many people in the West portray Japan as being fixed in its ways, and unable to change, and consequently risking national decline and international loss of prestige. However, in fact, Japan is at present in a significant transition period, comparable to the Meiji Restoration of 1868 or the period ...
By Jane Yamazaki
July 27, 2012
Post-war Japan offers a compelling case study of national apologies for past wrongdoings. Actions of the Japanese Army and government during the Second World War caused enormous suffering and distress throughout Asia, leaving a legacy of resentment and distrust. Beginning in the mid-1980s, apology ...
By Peter Hayes, Toshie Habu
July 11, 2012
The first book-length study of adoption in Japan, this impressive work tackles the innovative and sometimes controversial subject of the policies of adoption agencies in Japan. The book places special adoption in the context of a liberal reformist agenda that has challenged ...
By Kate Barclay
June 13, 2012
The Japanese, and other Asians, are increasingly taking over some of the roles previously played by Europeans in the Pacific islands, which is giving rise to interesting new economic relationships, and interesting new interactions between nationalities. This book considers the role of the Japanese ...
Edited
By David Leheny, Kay Warren
January 19, 2012
Instead of asking the usual questions about Japanese aid — Why is Japanese aid so different from that of other donors? Is Japanese aid effective? — this collection takes it as axiomatic that Japanese aid actors are now working in a contentious environment affected by changing global norms of aid. ...