The image of the shinkansen - or 'bullet train' - passing Mount Fuji is one of the most renowned images of modern Japan. Yet, despite its international reputation for speed and punctuality, little is understood about what makes it work so well and what its impact is.

This is a comprehensive account of the history of the shinkansen, from its planning during the Pacific War, to its launch in 1964 and subsequent development. It goes on to analyze the reasons behind the bullet train's success, and demonstrates how it went from being simply a high-speed rail network to attaining the...

Adding a new perspective to the current literature on decentralization in Japan, Cities, Autonomy and Decentralization in Japan, approaches the subject from an urban studies and planning approach. The essays in the collection present a cogent compilation of case studies focusing on the past, present and future of decentralization in Japan. These include small scale development in the fields such as citizen participation (machizukuri), urban form and architecture, disaster prevention and conservation of monuments.

The contributors suggest that new trends are...

This book is the first full-length study in English to examine the use of discriminatory language in Japan. As in other countries, there has been much debate about the public use of language deemed demeaning to certain groups within society especially in relation to the issue of minority rights versus freedom of speech.

Adding a new dimension to the discussion of language and society in Japan, the book focuses on an aspect of language and power which highlights some of the dissent underlying Japan s officially promoted ideology of a harmonious society. The text presents a revealing...

Post-war Japan offers a compelling case study of national apologies for past wrongdoings. Actions of the Japanese Army and government during the Second World War caused enormous suffering and distress throughout Asia, leaving a legacy of resentment and distrust. Beginning in the mid-1980s, apology for wartime actions became a recurring issue for Japan. Repeated calls for apology from various quarters as well as repeated apologies by Japanese officials provide a rich source for the study of national apology and how public apology discourse develops over time.

Unlike most rhetorical...

The Japanese family is shifting in fundamental ways, specifically in terms of attitudes towards family and societal relationships, and also the role of the family in society. Changing Japanese Family explores these significant changes which include an ageing population, delayed marriages, a fallen birth rate, which has fallen below the level needed for replacement, and a decline in three-generational households and family businesses.

The authors investigate these changes and the effects of them on Japanese society, whilst also setting the study in the context of...

This new book discusses the extent to which the Japanese economy encourages entrepreneurship and innovation.

Although Japan has a strong reputation as an innovator, some people argue that this reputation is misplaced. Contrary to earlier expectations, the USA rather than Japan emerged as the leader in the biotech industries in the 1990s, and also many small firms in Japan supply only a few - or just one - other company, thereby limiting their view of the marketplace and the commercial opportunities within it. Despite the increase of international patents, international scientific...

Institutional and technological change is a highly topical subject. At the theoretical level, there is much debate in the field of institutional economics about the role of technological change in endogenous growth theory. At a practical policy level, arguments rage about how Japan and the Japanese economy should plan for the future.

In this book, leading economists and economic historians of Japan examine a range of key issues concerning institutional and technological change in Japan, rigorously using discipline-based tools of analysis, and drawing important conclusions as to how the...

Japan's Contested War Memories is an important and significant book that explores the struggles within contemporary Japanese society to come to terms with Second World War history. Focusing particularly on 1972 onwards, the period starts with the normalization of relations with China and the return of Okinawa to Japan in 1972, and ends with the sixtieth anniversary commemorations.

Analyzing the variety of ways in which the Japanese people narrate, contest and interpret the past, the book is also a major critique of the way the subject has been treated in much of the...

This book presents a comprehensive analysis of one of the most pressing challenges facing Japan today: population decline and ageing.

It argues that social ageing is a phenomenon that follows in the wake of industrialization, urbanization and social modernization, bringing about changes in values, institutions, social structures, economic activity, technology and culture, and posing many challenges for the countries affected. Focusing on the experience of Japan, the author explores:

• how Japan has recognized the emerging problems relatively early because during the...