This book presents a counter-argument to the Japanese belief that they are a homogeneous nation since the Meiji period. Eiji Oguma demonstrates that the myth of ethnic homogeneity was not established
When the Japanese economy was on the rise, as it was in the 1980s, it was often suggested that the Japanese way of doing things was culturally unique and inherently superior. The apparent success of t
According to Josef Kreiner of the U. of Bonn, this work is one of the most important of Japanese intellectual history. Japanese anthropologist Umesao presents 12 of his essays on comparative civilizat
This study edited by Kimura examines the changes taking place in minority studies and the changing conception of diversity. Drawing from new studies and official data, the contributors discuss the lin
Seiyama (sociology, U. of Tokyo) addresses the questions of what kind of thought liberalism is, what it started out being, why it has come to the fore since the decline of socialism and is so frequent
This study a?? now in paperback a?? traces the root of Thailand's current political instability back to the 1990s. It challenges the prevailing view that the nation's democratization process, during t
Urano (Hokusei Gakuen U., Sapporo, Japan) set out to reconcile his own experience among villagers in Indonesia with the images of traditional or customary communities that he encountered working with
Abe (humanity and nature, National Institute for the Humanities, Japan) and Nickum (Tokyo Jogakkan College and Asian Water and Resources Institute) present a collection of revised papers based on manu
As the sequel to Groups: The Evolution of Human Sociality (2013), this book has broadened the discussion to examine the actions of people, apes, and monkeys in terms of 'what they do' by forming group
This is a study of a political and social movement instigated by older Korean women in Japan, beginning in the 1990s. Koreans in Japan have occupied a rather unique position among ethnic minority grou
In this the parallel volume to The Boundaries of 'the Japanese': Volume 1: Okinawa 1818-1972 (Trans Pacific Press, 2014), renowned historical sociologist Eiji Oguma further explores the fluctuating po
Noboru Hirota has produced a major historical analysis of how the field of chemistry has evolved over centuries. Spanning more than eight hundred pages, this book presents an exhaustive study of the f
'It finally dawned on us. The government was unreliable. Politicians and bureaucrats were unreliable. The media were untrustworthy. The brutal reality hit us that we had to protect ourselves...otherwi
Americans tend to regard Japan as a monolithic society that works because its people are so much alike. This is simply not true. Japan contains a range of classes and ethnicities as well as all the st
First published 2003 in Japan as Furiitaa to iu Ikikata (The lifestyle of the casual labor force), this study by Kosugi (research director, Japan Institute for Labor and Policy Training, Japan) examin
Furukawa (human life design, Tokyo University) studies the historical development and fundamental characteristics of social welfare in Japan and beyond, in this work for advanced students and professi
Poverty, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, says Iwata (social welfare, Japan Women's U.), in introducing a dozen perspectives on poverty and social exclusion in a welfare society. Nishizawa
Due to the chorus of admiration that recognizes Japan having become the world's second largest economy in the latter half of the 20th century, the awareness of poverty in Japan has been concealed. Thi
Presents standardized methods for collecting and analyzing data and samples taken from Asia for the international biodiversity observation year (IBOY), which will establish the current status of speci
