ABSTRACT

Japan is currently undergoing many interesting changes, which the Japanese government trumpets as fundamental reform, but which some observers suspect will turn out to be superficial, part of a long sequence of changes which have been much less far-reaching than at first anticipated. This book provides a survey of the many changes currently in progress in Japan, including political reform, economic deregulation and liberalisation, and reforms to environmental policy, science and technology, education, and immigration policy. The essays in this volume explore the reform process in Japan overall, and provides a thorough overview of major current developments in Japan.

chapter |8 pages

1Introduction

chapter |24 pages

3 Regulatory reforms in Japan

Issues and prospects

chapter |34 pages

5 Changes in the J-type firm

From bank-centred governance to internal governance 1

chapter |23 pages

7 Changing environmental policy agendas

Japan's approach to international environmental problems

chapter |15 pages

8 Crusaders of the lost archipelago

The changing relationships between environmental NGOs and government in Japan

chapter |13 pages

10 The reformatting of Japan for the people

Science, technology and the new economy

chapter |22 pages

11 Japanese ‘Education Reform'

The plan for the twenty-first century

chapter |5 pages

12 Conclusion