Author Description

Volume II of a six-volume study of the history of contemporary Japan. Written by leading academicians, 20 essays cover topics including changes and continuities in Japan's culture, similarities and differences in Japanese and American life, the media and its role, the problem of the "graying" of Japanese society, the issue of long-term care and the very un-Japanese idea of nursing homes for the elderly, the relationship between marriage and names, mothers and children, the resolution of disputes, popular culture and sex roles, the transition from Hirohito's six decades of rule to that of a younger and more modern leader, and current social issues such as homelessness, child abuse, and juvenile crime.