Book Reviews
'The Proceedings of the Japan Society', the journal of the UK based Japan Society which has a membership of around 1200 and holds a wide variety of events on aspects of Japanese culture.
includes reviews of a wide range of books related to Japan. I have reviewed the following:
in the Winter 2000 issue (136):
Japanese Science From the Inside
Samuel Coleman uses his anthropological training to look at both the system and individual lives of Japanese scientists and consider problems in the financing and organisation of scientific research, particularly Japan's stress on applied science rather than basic research.
Published by Routledge 1999
Success Story - The Privatisation of Japanese National Railways
Former President and later Chairman of JR East, Shoji Sumita, reflects on what he sees as the success of rail privatization in improving services and putting a break on costs.
Published by Profile Books 2000
in the Summer 2001 issue (137):
A History of Japanese Railways 1872-1999
by Eiichi Aoki, Mitsuhide Imashiro, Shinichi Kato and Yasuo Wakuda
A comprehensive look at the development of Japanese railways, with both the personalities involved and the technology which developed and contributed to the position where they are judged as a yardstick against which other railway operations are measured.
Published by East Japan Railway Culture Foundation 2000
The Japanese High School - Silence and Resistance
Shoko Yoneyama's critical account of the problems she sees in the Japanese education system, particularly ijime (group bullying) and tokokyohi (refusal to attend school).
Published by Routledge 1999
in the Winter 2001 issue (138):
Wearing Ideology: State, Schooling and Self-Presentation in Japan
Brian McVeigh looks at the power of clothes as uniform in Japan, as well as the 'cult of cuteness' which is a foil to the seriousness of such uniformity.
Published by Berg Publishers 2000
in the Winter 2002 issue (140):
Japanese Higher Education as Myth
Brian McVeigh considers various aspects of the university system in Japan and the inherent problems he sees in it.
Published by M.E. Sharpe 2002
in the January 2004 issue:
Japanese National Railways - Its Break-up and Privatization (How Japan's Passenger Rail Services Became the Envy of the World)
Yoshiyuki Kasai, President of JR Tokai focusses on the machinations within JNR (Japanese National Railways) as its dire financial condition led to pressure for reform, notably privatization. He also considers the post-privatization situation 15 years on.
Published by Global Oriental 2003