Yoshio Sugimoto Bücher

An Introduction to Japanese Society is a provocative, insightful and highly accessible book comprehensively examining contemporary Japanese society. It provides a thorough and critical analysis of the dominant view that Japanese society is strongly characterised by 'groupism and homogeneity'. Yoshio Sugimoto contests the notion that Japanese society comprises an extremely uniform culture, drawing attention to the subcultural diversity and class competition that exists within it. Sugimoto's views as an 'insider/outsider', having spent many years both in Japan and overseas, are insightful and probing. The book's accessibility and coverage of a broad range of issues, such as education, cultural diversity, power relations, politics and gender and family, makes it essential not only for students of Japan worldwide, but also for professional and lay people seeking a general introduction.

Essential reading for students of Japanese society, An Introduction to Japanese Society now enters its third edition. Here, internationally renowned scholar, Yoshio Sugimoto, writes a sophisticated, yet highly readable and lucid text, using both English and Japanese sources to update and expand upon his original narrative. The book challenges the traditional notion that Japan comprises a uniform culture, and draws attention to its subcultural diversity and class competition. Covering all aspects of Japanese society, it includes chapters on class, geographical and generational variation, work, education, gender, minorities, popular culture and the establishment. This new edition features sections on: Japan's cultural capitalism; the decline of the conventional Japanese management model; the rise of the 'socially divided society' thesis; changes of government; the spread of manga, animation and Japan's popular culture overseas; and the expansion of civil society in Japan.