This is a book that will not pass the test of time, but perhaps it is a book that Japan needs right now as it struggles to face the future.
The book tackles major issues in Japanese society, particularly: power harassment, sexual harassment, intolerance towards diversity. And particularly how many middle-aged Japanese men don't even realize this is a problem.
There is a particularly strong focus on sexual harassment in the Japanese workplace, and how many middle-aged Japanese men don't even know what sexual harassment is and take it for granted. I could not agree with the author more that it is not acceptable. There is no male/female in the workplace, just coworkers.
Still encouraging people to break the stereotype in the workplace. Though the story is a bit old school, the relationship between main characters encourage me to do better in my career but still out of office on time !