Japan's Quiet Transformation

The 1990s have been termed as 'Japan's lost decade' to describe how the phenomenal growth in the Japanese economy ground to a halt and the country was crippled by enormous and ongoing political, economic and social problems. In responding to these unprecedented difficulties, wide-ranging reforms have been adopted including NPO, information disclosure and judicial reform legislation. Controversially, this book argues that such reforms are creating a more robust civil society and demonstrate that Japan is far more dynamic than is generally recognized. <p><strong>Part 1</strong> 1. The Lost Decade 2. Information Disclosure 3. Building Civil Society: NPOs and Judicial Reform 4. Rogues and Riches 5. Downsizing the Construction State <strong>Part 2</strong> 6. Bad Blood 7. Dignity Denied 8. Mad Cows and Ocean Cockroaches <strong>Part 3</strong> 9. Nationalism 10. Social Transformations: Gender, Family, Work and Demographic Trends</p>