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Japan: The Paradox of Harmony
A well-rounded, well-informed critique of the Pacific island nation of Japan, its society, economy, demography, and politics
Following a crushing defeat in World War II, Japan rose like a phoenix from the literal ashes to become a model of modernity and success, for decades Asia’s premier economic giant. Yet it remains a nation hobbled by rigid gender roles, protectionist policies, and a defensive, inflexible corporate system that has helped bring about political and economic stagnation. The unique social cohesion that enabled Japan to cope with adversity and develop swiftly has also encouraged isolationism, given rise to an arrogant and inflexible bureaucracy, and prevented the country from addressing difficult issues. Its culture of hard work—in fact, overwork—is legendary, but a declining population and restrictions on opportunity threaten the nation’s future.
Keiko Hirata and Mark Warschauer have combined thoroughly researched deep analysis with engaging anecdotal material in this enlightening portrait of modern-day Japan, creating an honest and accessible critique that addresses issues from the economy and politics to immigration, education, and the increasing alienation of Japanese youth.
Following a crushing defeat in World War II, Japan rose like a phoenix from the literal ashes to become a model of modernity and success, for decades Asia’s premier economic giant. Yet it remains a nation hobbled by rigid gender roles, protectionist policies, and a defensive, inflexible corporate system that has helped bring about political and economic stagnation. The unique social cohesion that enabled Japan to cope with adversity and develop swiftly has also encouraged isolationism, given rise to an arrogant and inflexible bureaucracy, and prevented the country from addressing difficult issues. Its culture of hard work—in fact, overwork—is legendary, but a declining population and restrictions on opportunity threaten the nation’s future.
Keiko Hirata and Mark Warschauer have combined thoroughly researched deep analysis with engaging anecdotal material in this enlightening portrait of modern-day Japan, creating an honest and accessible critique that addresses issues from the economy and politics to immigration, education, and the increasing alienation of Japanese youth.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 28, 2021
Harmony, a word that people strive for. Achieving a sense of unity as an entirety might seem a dream to some. But for Japan, society itself is centered around the concept of Harmony (和). Yet, this harmony has instead bred disharmony within the nation.
The above paradox is expounded upon by Keiko Hirata and Mark Warschauer. They establish the lay of the land in Japan, connecting key concepts with lived experiences of the Japanese that add an important personal touch to the topics addressed. This allowed for an enlightening read into the lives of the Japanese.
As the authors aptly highlight, harmony is the enemy of flexibility in Japan. Despite the book being published 7 years ago, the issue of inflexibility still stands till today. The situation with the Olympics provide a case in point. The Japanese have impeccable traits that have led to their prosperous nation, but these traits require an update. The books leaves you hanging to ponder about whether this would be possible. Would it have been better if the authors provided their own stances? Is there even a stance to take? Only time will tell.
The above paradox is expounded upon by Keiko Hirata and Mark Warschauer. They establish the lay of the land in Japan, connecting key concepts with lived experiences of the Japanese that add an important personal touch to the topics addressed. This allowed for an enlightening read into the lives of the Japanese.
As the authors aptly highlight, harmony is the enemy of flexibility in Japan. Despite the book being published 7 years ago, the issue of inflexibility still stands till today. The situation with the Olympics provide a case in point. The Japanese have impeccable traits that have led to their prosperous nation, but these traits require an update. The books leaves you hanging to ponder about whether this would be possible. Would it have been better if the authors provided their own stances? Is there even a stance to take? Only time will tell.
July 15, 2015
Very good read if you want to know more about modern day Japan. I really enjoyed it.
June 14, 2023
Hirata and Warschauer demonstrated their academic training by relying on a wide array of primary and secondary sources to substantiate their argument: that as of 2014 when the book was published Japan’s longstanding, wide ranging cultivation of harmony (Wa) amongst its people had been responsible for both its greatest successes as well as its ongoing social and economic stagnation since the early 1990’s. They demonstrated this by providing thorough analyses on various aspects of the society. These included its economic and corporate life, gender roles and family life, its demographics, its international relations, and its educational system. One more chapter provided an in depth discussion of how the social and political dynamics of Wa contributed to, if not exacerbated, the tragic consequences of the so called Triple Disaster caused by the mega earthquake in Fukushima in March 2011.
The authors tried to stimulate reader engagement in a few ways. First, they provided sometimes lengthy descriptions of various individuals to underscore the points they made. Second, they made timely use ofJapanese vocabulary for some of the concepts they presented. They always provided an English translation. Third, the prose was largely straightforward and thus readable. Fourth, the chapters were divided into clearly marked sections covering various aspects of the topic at hand. Those readers wanting specific facts will be satisfied to find plenty of survey results and statistics reported which elaborated on the trends which were presented. Actually, IMHO the narrative gets bogged down at times in all of these facts.
One might think that a book published almost 10 years ago would be dated. While the specifics might be modestly different, the general problematic trends Hirata and Warschauer described are sadly still taking place today. For example, an alarming and problematic percentage of young college graduates still cannot gain full time permanent employment because of the 30 years of economic stagnation which Japan has been mired in. Thus, as their economic futures are far from secure they are still marrying later, if at all, and still having fewer babies. As the birth rate continues to be far below replacement levels the country still faces ‘a demographic time bomb.’
Former Prime Minister Abe proposed 3 programs early in his tenure to address these issues: Abenomics, Womenomics, and Equal Pay for Equal Work. None of these had much impact, however, for two reasons. First, he refused to pass legislation requiring corporations to change their hiring practices. Neither did he pass tax incentives which might have motivated corporations to hire more women. Second, the EPfEW program had so many loopholes in it that corporations were able to continue with the status quo. Thus, there are very few women executives and managers in corporate Japan.
Current PM Kishida is proposing to boost subsidies aimed at motivating families to have more children. Two aspects of this are still unresolved: how to fund these and whether $100+ per month per child will be enough to motivate parents to have more children.
https://www.dw.com/en/japan-to-channe...
Some leaders might have seen the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plants and the shutdown of other plants around the country as an admittedly tragic opportunity to make a dramatic shift towards renewable sources of power. But Abe and his successors have not been willing to offend the established utilities and construction companies invested in nuclear energy. Instead, they bolstered the safety regulations and just recently extended the life of these plants up to 60 years.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/20...
Hirata and Warschauer concluded by hoping that the 2020 Olympics would offer Japan the same kind of encouragement to accelerate its development which the Games in 1964 did. While the country merited kudos for hosting a relatively safe event in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, it was not able to break out into new, more dynamic and forward looking social, economic, and political trends.
One does not need much background in Japanese culture or mid/late 20th century history to benefit from and learn a great deal from Paradox. There are occasions when some historical context of the Meiji era from the late 19th and early 20th century would have added even more depth to the authors’ analyses. For that reason and for its periodic excessive discussion of statistics I would rate it at 4 stars: very good but not quite excellent.
Addendum 6/11/2023: for those interested this is a concise, readable analysis of how Japan could transition to wind, solar, and hydro power in a timely way. It also briefly outlines the flaws inherent in its continuing reliance on nuclear power.
https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2023/06...
Addendum 6/13/2023: A Japanese government council approved on 6/12/2023 a women's empowerment policy featuring the goal of raising the ratio of female board members to more than 30 percent by 2030 at companies listed on the top-tier Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
In Japan, 18.7 percent of firms listed on the Prime Market had no female board members as of the end of July 2022, the Cabinet Office said, adding the proportion of the companies with over 30 percent of executive roles filled by women was only 2.2 percent.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/20...
The authors tried to stimulate reader engagement in a few ways. First, they provided sometimes lengthy descriptions of various individuals to underscore the points they made. Second, they made timely use ofJapanese vocabulary for some of the concepts they presented. They always provided an English translation. Third, the prose was largely straightforward and thus readable. Fourth, the chapters were divided into clearly marked sections covering various aspects of the topic at hand. Those readers wanting specific facts will be satisfied to find plenty of survey results and statistics reported which elaborated on the trends which were presented. Actually, IMHO the narrative gets bogged down at times in all of these facts.
One might think that a book published almost 10 years ago would be dated. While the specifics might be modestly different, the general problematic trends Hirata and Warschauer described are sadly still taking place today. For example, an alarming and problematic percentage of young college graduates still cannot gain full time permanent employment because of the 30 years of economic stagnation which Japan has been mired in. Thus, as their economic futures are far from secure they are still marrying later, if at all, and still having fewer babies. As the birth rate continues to be far below replacement levels the country still faces ‘a demographic time bomb.’
Former Prime Minister Abe proposed 3 programs early in his tenure to address these issues: Abenomics, Womenomics, and Equal Pay for Equal Work. None of these had much impact, however, for two reasons. First, he refused to pass legislation requiring corporations to change their hiring practices. Neither did he pass tax incentives which might have motivated corporations to hire more women. Second, the EPfEW program had so many loopholes in it that corporations were able to continue with the status quo. Thus, there are very few women executives and managers in corporate Japan.
Current PM Kishida is proposing to boost subsidies aimed at motivating families to have more children. Two aspects of this are still unresolved: how to fund these and whether $100+ per month per child will be enough to motivate parents to have more children.
https://www.dw.com/en/japan-to-channe...
Some leaders might have seen the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plants and the shutdown of other plants around the country as an admittedly tragic opportunity to make a dramatic shift towards renewable sources of power. But Abe and his successors have not been willing to offend the established utilities and construction companies invested in nuclear energy. Instead, they bolstered the safety regulations and just recently extended the life of these plants up to 60 years.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/20...
Hirata and Warschauer concluded by hoping that the 2020 Olympics would offer Japan the same kind of encouragement to accelerate its development which the Games in 1964 did. While the country merited kudos for hosting a relatively safe event in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, it was not able to break out into new, more dynamic and forward looking social, economic, and political trends.
One does not need much background in Japanese culture or mid/late 20th century history to benefit from and learn a great deal from Paradox. There are occasions when some historical context of the Meiji era from the late 19th and early 20th century would have added even more depth to the authors’ analyses. For that reason and for its periodic excessive discussion of statistics I would rate it at 4 stars: very good but not quite excellent.
Addendum 6/11/2023: for those interested this is a concise, readable analysis of how Japan could transition to wind, solar, and hydro power in a timely way. It also briefly outlines the flaws inherent in its continuing reliance on nuclear power.
https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2023/06...
Addendum 6/13/2023: A Japanese government council approved on 6/12/2023 a women's empowerment policy featuring the goal of raising the ratio of female board members to more than 30 percent by 2030 at companies listed on the top-tier Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
In Japan, 18.7 percent of firms listed on the Prime Market had no female board members as of the end of July 2022, the Cabinet Office said, adding the proportion of the companies with over 30 percent of executive roles filled by women was only 2.2 percent.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/20...
March 5, 2023
Japan is known as one of the good countries with always about good things that we heard online or from advertisements. But, face it. No country is perfect, including Japan. This is something that is common in every country. This book is open for discussion of certain issues in Japan, which are The Whistleblower, Grass Eating Girly Men, Graying and Shrinking, Getting Along with the Neighbour, Meltdown, and finally, What We Learned at Lunch. All topics included real example and real conversations, I believe. The discussion was long for every chapter, which is why I limited my review to the interesting fact that I learn.
The first issue that was discussed was The Whistleblower. It includes the working condition of Japan, which for me was a flaw in others. Unlike Malaysian (who I believe like to jump jobs for better conditions and salary), Japanese will stay in the same company for a very long time (possibly for a lifetime). I have nothing to against, as long as I was treated with fair and good composition. Can you imagine how loyal the Japanese are to their employer? Even though the employer treats them badly, to the point they have to go to court just to claim their right. Yes, this is what happened in Japan. However, I don’t think Japan’s court was fair to the victims. The whistleblowers quickly become outcasts. And we are not yet talking about mandatory overtime and the guilty pressure if the employees take leave. ‘No Overtime Days’ was a scam. Yep, not a good sign. This is why there were lots of karoshi cases in Japan. Japanese also have a family system in that only men go to work while women take care of their families. For me, if I want a family, I need both to corporate. And I also can conclude that Japan’s workplace discrimination against women. There were lots of carriers for women to take up their careers, which is not fair. Just be clear, men will not be born if there are no women. So, be nice to women as well.
The second issue was about Grass Eating Girly Men, and yes, it is about men. An idea about men were men should find a company and work with them for the rest of their life, supporting their families while women stay at home. A little bit of lame and old thinking, but that was the ideal. However, some people have another idea about men in Japan. And there was a section dedicated to The Johnny’s, which I know a lots of people know them. And I am very happy that the author mentions Kitagawa’s serious allegation. I mean, come on. People talked when it happened. And the famous topic, Otaku men. Otaku is an insult in Japan, but in western and other Asia, we take it as pride (not me, really). Otaku to them is a geek, but some are still with them because of securities. And the Idol otaku. yeah, I don’t really understand the hype. I listen to them but for me to spend so much on people who don’t look at you, nope. So, this is why many women decide to be single women.
The third issue was about Graying and Shrinking, which is kind of related to the second issue. Yes, we are talking about the old population, which is one of the problems faced by the Japanese. When people don’t have an interest in marriage, the birth population decreased which leads to an increase in the old man population. In Japan, it is very popular for the Japanese to use seniority level in every aspect, including in prison. The certain reason that led to this situation is the low fertility rate as the main reasons for that were delayed marriage and non-marriage. Another reason is also that being a mother is not easy in Japan (again, not fair for mothers in Japan!) which is why women tend to have fewer children. So, the solution was to attract more foreign workers. But, this also lead to the next issue in Japan, which is racism and criticised as ripe for abuse. And not surprising that many foreign workers died due to karoshi.
Next, we have an issue with Getting along with the Neighbours. At first, I thought it is about the neighbour next door to their house (I mean I thought Japanese usually have a good relationship with their neighbour), but actually, it is not. It is about the neighbours’ countries. This is due to the face of the war before. The famous case is about comfort women. Japan also concurred Tanah Melayu before, so I believed Malaysia also was a victim of this, like Korea. Korea's anger toward Japan for this matter is understandable, especially when Japan refused to acknowledge this matter. There is also mention about policy, politics and issues of zanichi mentioned here. But, face it. I suck at politics, and politic matter. Well, the problem with Korea was not only about the comfort women, but also because of disputed islands between Japan and Korea. The K-wave does not reduce the tension at all. And Japan also needs to face this dispute with China as well.
The second last issue was regarding Meltdown, which is focused on nuclear in Japan. Fukushima becomes Japan’s Chornobyl (Chornobyl is very scary) because of the earthquake in 2011. It is very scary to deal with the destroyed rectors. Only after 19 months after the earthquake and tsunami, TEPCO acknowledged its faults in accident preparation. Although TEPCO had been warned about warning regarding the effect of earthquakes that measuring more than 8.3 can create disable Fukushima, the nuclear plant was still built. Yoshida, the man who save lives from the disaster of the nuclear leak and become the unsung hero who tried to save many live and Fukushima, was also one of the men in TECPO’s leaders who ignored the warning. The effect of this disaster was many people not only lost their land and house but also lost their life after that by suicide. Fukushima became a ghost town.
Lastly, we have What We Learned at Lunch. The Japanese school system was very unique and different from other systems in other countries. Japan has collective systems and students spend more time at school (I do not envy that. Malaysian felt very happy at the end of the school period and really want to go home as soon as they can). Teachers also become important in students’ life. Sometimes, when I read manga or watch anime or drama about high school in Japan, I always thought should parents be more concerned about their kids’ problems and life instead of teachers? What is used by parents? But, they have a good system of MEXT, which I acknowledge. No wonder Japanese students are at other levels compared to other students. Also, the Japanese are famous for school spirit. Maybe that made why students spend more time in school. Malaysian have it, but we do it because we have to. Some parents or teachers do not really support students in that. Still, there is some flaw in the education system. The famous flaw was the bullied culture, which is also faced by employees in the company. They bully people (usually weak students) in a group (which is totally cowardly move. Grow up!). Do you know the worst part? Sometimes, even teachers are afraid of bullies. They were afraid that they lost control of their class (that is not how it is going, sensei). And yes, the exam and testing. It is troublesome. Maybe not bad as the Korean exam, but still exam is the one thing that I am not envy in Japan.
So, yes! Japan has many good things happened that we learn and heard from Japan. But every country had its own flaw, including mine and Japan. There is no such perfect country in this world, but still, we can take every bad and good thing as a lesson for our own learning process.
The first issue that was discussed was The Whistleblower. It includes the working condition of Japan, which for me was a flaw in others. Unlike Malaysian (who I believe like to jump jobs for better conditions and salary), Japanese will stay in the same company for a very long time (possibly for a lifetime). I have nothing to against, as long as I was treated with fair and good composition. Can you imagine how loyal the Japanese are to their employer? Even though the employer treats them badly, to the point they have to go to court just to claim their right. Yes, this is what happened in Japan. However, I don’t think Japan’s court was fair to the victims. The whistleblowers quickly become outcasts. And we are not yet talking about mandatory overtime and the guilty pressure if the employees take leave. ‘No Overtime Days’ was a scam. Yep, not a good sign. This is why there were lots of karoshi cases in Japan. Japanese also have a family system in that only men go to work while women take care of their families. For me, if I want a family, I need both to corporate. And I also can conclude that Japan’s workplace discrimination against women. There were lots of carriers for women to take up their careers, which is not fair. Just be clear, men will not be born if there are no women. So, be nice to women as well.
The second issue was about Grass Eating Girly Men, and yes, it is about men. An idea about men were men should find a company and work with them for the rest of their life, supporting their families while women stay at home. A little bit of lame and old thinking, but that was the ideal. However, some people have another idea about men in Japan. And there was a section dedicated to The Johnny’s, which I know a lots of people know them. And I am very happy that the author mentions Kitagawa’s serious allegation. I mean, come on. People talked when it happened. And the famous topic, Otaku men. Otaku is an insult in Japan, but in western and other Asia, we take it as pride (not me, really). Otaku to them is a geek, but some are still with them because of securities. And the Idol otaku. yeah, I don’t really understand the hype. I listen to them but for me to spend so much on people who don’t look at you, nope. So, this is why many women decide to be single women.
The third issue was about Graying and Shrinking, which is kind of related to the second issue. Yes, we are talking about the old population, which is one of the problems faced by the Japanese. When people don’t have an interest in marriage, the birth population decreased which leads to an increase in the old man population. In Japan, it is very popular for the Japanese to use seniority level in every aspect, including in prison. The certain reason that led to this situation is the low fertility rate as the main reasons for that were delayed marriage and non-marriage. Another reason is also that being a mother is not easy in Japan (again, not fair for mothers in Japan!) which is why women tend to have fewer children. So, the solution was to attract more foreign workers. But, this also lead to the next issue in Japan, which is racism and criticised as ripe for abuse. And not surprising that many foreign workers died due to karoshi.
Next, we have an issue with Getting along with the Neighbours. At first, I thought it is about the neighbour next door to their house (I mean I thought Japanese usually have a good relationship with their neighbour), but actually, it is not. It is about the neighbours’ countries. This is due to the face of the war before. The famous case is about comfort women. Japan also concurred Tanah Melayu before, so I believed Malaysia also was a victim of this, like Korea. Korea's anger toward Japan for this matter is understandable, especially when Japan refused to acknowledge this matter. There is also mention about policy, politics and issues of zanichi mentioned here. But, face it. I suck at politics, and politic matter. Well, the problem with Korea was not only about the comfort women, but also because of disputed islands between Japan and Korea. The K-wave does not reduce the tension at all. And Japan also needs to face this dispute with China as well.
The second last issue was regarding Meltdown, which is focused on nuclear in Japan. Fukushima becomes Japan’s Chornobyl (Chornobyl is very scary) because of the earthquake in 2011. It is very scary to deal with the destroyed rectors. Only after 19 months after the earthquake and tsunami, TEPCO acknowledged its faults in accident preparation. Although TEPCO had been warned about warning regarding the effect of earthquakes that measuring more than 8.3 can create disable Fukushima, the nuclear plant was still built. Yoshida, the man who save lives from the disaster of the nuclear leak and become the unsung hero who tried to save many live and Fukushima, was also one of the men in TECPO’s leaders who ignored the warning. The effect of this disaster was many people not only lost their land and house but also lost their life after that by suicide. Fukushima became a ghost town.
Lastly, we have What We Learned at Lunch. The Japanese school system was very unique and different from other systems in other countries. Japan has collective systems and students spend more time at school (I do not envy that. Malaysian felt very happy at the end of the school period and really want to go home as soon as they can). Teachers also become important in students’ life. Sometimes, when I read manga or watch anime or drama about high school in Japan, I always thought should parents be more concerned about their kids’ problems and life instead of teachers? What is used by parents? But, they have a good system of MEXT, which I acknowledge. No wonder Japanese students are at other levels compared to other students. Also, the Japanese are famous for school spirit. Maybe that made why students spend more time in school. Malaysian have it, but we do it because we have to. Some parents or teachers do not really support students in that. Still, there is some flaw in the education system. The famous flaw was the bullied culture, which is also faced by employees in the company. They bully people (usually weak students) in a group (which is totally cowardly move. Grow up!). Do you know the worst part? Sometimes, even teachers are afraid of bullies. They were afraid that they lost control of their class (that is not how it is going, sensei). And yes, the exam and testing. It is troublesome. Maybe not bad as the Korean exam, but still exam is the one thing that I am not envy in Japan.
So, yes! Japan has many good things happened that we learn and heard from Japan. But every country had its own flaw, including mine and Japan. There is no such perfect country in this world, but still, we can take every bad and good thing as a lesson for our own learning process.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 1, 2017
I've been a bit of a Japanese lit fan ever since reading Murakami's 1Q84. Since then I've read Endo, Akutagawa, Kawabata and Soseki and really enjoyed their writing. This said I've always felt that there was so much about the country and it's people that I didn't know that I'm missing many of the nuances of their writing. This is part why I picked up this book by Hirata and Warschauer. I wanted something that would give me a window into the country.
Hirata and Warschauer with clearly way and there is much in here that is interesting and has already opened up a number of the books I've already read. That said there are a couple of issues I have with it.
The first is that it's a little simplistic. For Hirata and Warschauer the concept of Harmony and the desire to achieve it at all costs is the central facet of all that occurs in Japan today. Whilst concept of harmony is undoubtedly important it can't be the only important concept as no single concept can ever be really thought to be that important. There has to be more to their psyche than just one concept.
The second problem for me is that it's noticeably western centric. It looks at all of its issues through the lense of western capitalism as though this will be the answer to all the problems that assail Japan today.
Despite these two problems it has been a good read and does provide a great entry and a springboard to a greater understanding of the country.
Hirata and Warschauer with clearly way and there is much in here that is interesting and has already opened up a number of the books I've already read. That said there are a couple of issues I have with it.
The first is that it's a little simplistic. For Hirata and Warschauer the concept of Harmony and the desire to achieve it at all costs is the central facet of all that occurs in Japan today. Whilst concept of harmony is undoubtedly important it can't be the only important concept as no single concept can ever be really thought to be that important. There has to be more to their psyche than just one concept.
The second problem for me is that it's noticeably western centric. It looks at all of its issues through the lense of western capitalism as though this will be the answer to all the problems that assail Japan today.
Despite these two problems it has been a good read and does provide a great entry and a springboard to a greater understanding of the country.
May 16, 2021
Japan is a fascinating country - the insular history until the 1800's followed by their colonial aggressive military exploitations of the world war era and the following succesful economic might and resurgence have woven together such that the basic tenets of their culture including harmony, respect, consensus, commitment, service and patriarchy is holding them back from the needs of the 21st century which is flexibility, innovation and adaptation to change.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it's given me a good glimpse into the psyche of Japan of today and why so. Since the time I started working with Japanese colleagues and visited Japan in 2017, I have always found myself wondering about the undercurrent of tension between modernity, technology advancements and respect v/s hierarchy, agreeableness and long working hours. It has been extremely difficult to crack the code of working in Japan and/or with Japanese.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it's given me a good glimpse into the psyche of Japan of today and why so. Since the time I started working with Japanese colleagues and visited Japan in 2017, I have always found myself wondering about the undercurrent of tension between modernity, technology advancements and respect v/s hierarchy, agreeableness and long working hours. It has been extremely difficult to crack the code of working in Japan and/or with Japanese.
January 29, 2020
Interesting look on Japanese society. The books spans several different aspects of Japan, allowing for a broad view. The use and combination of sources is good and makes for a well informed read. Of particular interest are the chapters on work structure, Fukushima and demographics. However, the language can be a bit bureaucratic sometimes. The book The Age of Ambition, which is a similar proposal, but towards China, is an example of a more compelling writing style. Overall, I wish I had read this before going to Japan. I could connect it to a lot of experiences I had there.
September 15, 2023
A good book to understand Japan in the early years of the 21st century. For me, chapter five is excellent for its description of what happened after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the serious nuclear accident in Fukushima, a collection of bad decisions, red tape and incompetence.
December 1, 2022
Solid research and a very surprising view of today's Japan. Fascinating book. Well structured, very accessible.
August 10, 2023
I read this in 2023, so a lot of the informations are dated. But I think it offer a good insight on successes and challenge for Japan from after the war period up to 2010’s.
Overall a good read.
Overall a good read.
Read
December 9, 2023DNF - page 46 (ebook)
October 20, 2024
Very interesting book dissecting the Japanese mindset
Read
February 2, 2025good perspectives but lots of generalities.
September 13, 2025
Very informative if you are not read up on Japan, a real eye opener for me!
March 31, 2018
Beautiful overview of current Japan culture, society and mindset.
September 19, 2016
Decent as a very basic introduction to issues surrounding Japan - everything from an ageing population, gender issues, and those involving immigration and minorities. The Fukushima disaster and relations with Korea and China are also covered in brief. Although it is a clearly written, this book won't be valuable to anyone except those with the most rudimentary knowledge of Japan which I suppose it the group it is targeted at. It's central theme - the 'paradox' of a society that strives to uphold harmony and the benefits and harms that it brings is also rather simplistic.
October 9, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's fairly basic and its central message is straight forward. I also found the details provided, both relevant and interesting.
Having had a passing interest in Japan for a while, I thought it was time to learn a little bit more about the country. I agree with other reviewers that you won't find in-depth historical analysis of the country, rather an overview. But for me, that was what I was hoping for.
The writing style was straight-forward and easy to read. It is 250 pages with a decent reference section for a book of this size.
Having had a passing interest in Japan for a while, I thought it was time to learn a little bit more about the country. I agree with other reviewers that you won't find in-depth historical analysis of the country, rather an overview. But for me, that was what I was hoping for.
The writing style was straight-forward and easy to read. It is 250 pages with a decent reference section for a book of this size.
March 27, 2015
Fine, but lacking any lasting quality. Similarly, the quality of the writing was fine, serviceable, but I was never impressed by the phrasing, the connections or the conclusions. Dunno. It was a fine, quick read.
Want to read
March 24, 2015BPL Copy on hold. Due March 28.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews