A Social History of Science and Technology in Contemporary Japan

Marked by Minamata Disease, the oil crisis of 1973, trade friction with the US, and a general understanding that the economic and financial environment was worsening rapidly, the 1970s would appear to contain the seeds of destruction of what had become Japan. However, as these 50 contributors show, significant growth in both basic and applied research in fields ranging from electronics to food production continued and increased in intensity, addressing the very issues that had caused such alarm, creating the next wave of knowledge-based high-technology products and companies. Specific topics include the role of citizen's groups in improving public safety and locating nuclear energy plants, the development of think tanks, problems with compulsory health insurance, the unmet need for researchers, changes in funding of academic projects, and developments in specific fields such as the liberalization of the computer industry and the automation of manufacturing. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation c2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)