Description
At the start of the 1990s, the Japanese postwar economic miracle came to a screeching halt. A series of disastrous market collapses and an ensuing economic meltdown resulted in what is now referred to as Japan's "Lost Decade." Yet the phenomenon represents much more than a singular economic debacle and case of bungled government policy decisions. Contemporary Japan:
History, Politics, and Social Change since the 1980s presents an accessible and comprehensive examination of the causes of the Japanese housing. and stock bubble in the late 1980s and the socio-political consequences of the ensuing implosion of asset values. Jeff Kingston reveals that although the Japanese economy now remains mired in recession, and the government is seemingly adrift, the apparent stagnation is misleading.
He shows how the discrediting of the Japan, Inc. model has lead to significant policy reforms and transformative social change most apparent in the dramatic political victory of the Democratic Party of Japan in 2009, but also in myriad other ways. Kingston also addresses many other challenges faced by contemporary Japan, including the implications of growing risk, its aging society, environmental issues, immigration policies, and neo-liberal reforms, while elucidating how traditional institutions such as the imperial family and 'yakuza' criminal gangs are responding. Contemporary Japan offers deep and probing insights into the turmoil in Japan since the death of Emperor Hirohito in 1989 through to the present day.
ISBN:9781405191937
