ABSTRACT

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.

chapter 1|41 pages

The Lost Decade of the 1990s

chapter 2|28 pages

Information disclosure

chapter 3|25 pages

Building civil society

NPOs and judicial reform

chapter 4|27 pages

Rogues and riches

The bureaucrats' fall from grace

chapter 5|35 pages

Downsizing the construction state

chapter 6|23 pages

Bad blood

The betrayal and infection of Japan's hemophiliacs

chapter 7|18 pages

Dignity denied

chapter 8|27 pages

Mad cows and ocean cockroaches

chapter 9|32 pages

One hand clapping

Currents of nationalism in contemporary Japan

chapter 10|49 pages

Social transformations

Family, gender, aging, and work

chapter |6 pages

Conclusion Under construction

Japan's nascent civil society