Japan Unbound: A Volatile Nation's Quest for Pride and Purpose

By John Nathan

Explores the cultural changes that have taken place in Japan throughout the last decade as demonstrated by various economic groups and institutions, predicting what Japan's changing world role will mean for the future. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618138943
• ISBN13: 9780618138944
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 271 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A must read

Japan Unbound is a must read for anyone trying to understand Japanese culture today. This book looks at the economic, social and political transitions taking place in the post boom years of Japan. I did not go into this book expecting to like it, but was forced to reconsider this position with every page.

Japan In Transition - Again.

Japan's history and culture is deeply rooted in its 1400 years of interaction and trade with its Asian neighbors, and especially with China during after the Tang dynasty of 618 to 907. This Asian orientation was the basis and has strongly influenced the development of Japan and contributed to the Japanese "identity". This Asian orientation continued until 1853 when Japan embraced both its past and while simultaneously embarked...

An eye opener

I liked this book very much. It was an eye opener to me because I had no idea that the school system was in such trouble and that the young people were dropping out of school or becoming violent. This seems pretty bad since Japan has the most rapidly aging society and they expect one day for there to be one worker for every retired person. Pretty depressing. One thing that was also a surprise was Shintaro Ishihara's response...

The best on contemporay Japan

John Nathan speaks about several main social topics of comtemporary Japan. I found the book extremly interesting for foreigners living in Japan and people who are interested in the current situation of Japan. The big advantage of this book, which makes is different from other books about Japan, is that Nathan writes based on a long time knowledge of the country and not from a superficial journalistic viewpoint. A a result,...

INCISIVE COMPILATION OF SOCIAL ILLS, WITH FORGIVABLE ISSUES

While Alex Kerr's "Dogs and Demons" harped on about the travails of the Japanese construction industry, John Nathan picks on a social axe to grind. Which makes for an indulging read indeed, although the supporting evidence is occasionally lacking and the inferences about the future are to the tune of "It's unpredictable, time will tell." You've probably read other authors crunch economic data or political misgivings of the...