Japan in the Heisei Era (1989-2019) provides a retrospective and multidisciplinary account of a society in flux. Featuring analyses from leading scholars around the globe, this textbook examines the evolving contexts of Japan throughout the Heisei era and how longstanding verities and values have been called into question. Asking what this holds for Japan's future relations with the world and within its own communities, chapters delve beneath the layers of a complex and increasingly diverse society, exploring topics including simmering ethnonationalism, economic torpor, political stagnation, and cultural dynamics.
Features of this textbook include:
- Analysis of key social issues ranging from immigration, civil society, press freedom, politics, labour and the economy, to diversity, the marginalisation of women, Shinto, and Aum Shinrikyo
- Evaluation of the legacy of Emperor Akihito on war memory, the imperial institution, art, regional relations, and constitutional revision
- Multidisciplinary insights from both the social sciences and humanities
- Rich illustrations for visual analysis of developments in contemporary Japanese literature, film, art, and pop culture
Providing students with dynamic analyses of how contemporary Japanese society continues to transform, this textbook is essential reading for students of Japanese Studies, including Japanese culture, society, history, and politics.
Features of this textbook include:
- Analysis of key social issues ranging from immigration, civil society, press freedom, politics, labour and the economy, to diversity, the marginalisation of women, Shinto, and Aum Shinrikyo
- Evaluation of the legacy of Emperor Akihito on war memory, the imperial institution, art, regional relations, and constitutional revision
- Multidisciplinary insights from both the social sciences and humanities
- Rich illustrations for visual analysis of developments in contemporary Japanese literature, film, art, and pop culture
Providing students with dynamic analyses of how contemporary Japanese society continues to transform, this textbook is essential reading for students of Japanese Studies, including Japanese culture, society, history, and politics.
'...Japan in the Heisei Era is a terrific read. The quality of the contributions is very high; the writing is clear and engaging throughout; the balance between survey and detail is superb; and the book succeeds in providing the multidimensional but not all-encompassing overview of contemporary Japan it promises. Newcomers to and specialists in Japanese studies alike will learn much from it.'
Derek Hall, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo
Derek Hall, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo