ABSTRACT
In the preceding two chapters, two differing views of Japanese society have been outlined. One stressed the high level of social consensus in Japan and the other stressed the presence of conflict. Based on their reading of Neustupny (1982a), Said (1979), Davis (1982) and Bix ( 1979), the authors are inclined to conclude that the two views are not simply different interpretations of the same data or even of the same phenomena. It would appear that the differences in viewpoint are part of a more fundamental or more general difference in the paradigm: a system of thought characterized by similar descriptions of social phenomena, a common problem consciousness and shared methodological assumptions and strategies.
