Among the leading specialists on Japan, the authors--both Japanese and Western--represent a range of disciplines from economics, history, and political science, to sociology, anthropology, psychiatry, and literary criticism. Some of the essays draw comparisons with China or Korea, some with England, Europe, or America, and some with countries of the Third World. By showing us how the Japanese experience relates to that of other contexts, the authors provide us with important insights into Japan as well as into other societies undergoing a modern transformation.

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