ABSTRACT
In this book, I have argued that in Japan self, society, and state are linked by rationalizing and ritualizing practices, which constitute a bureaucratic ethos, driven by an economic nationalism. This ethos shapes and is a product of public/private distinctions, state/individual relations, state structures, education (especially “moral”), political legitimacy, and “common sense.” By pointing out these connections and relations, I have attempted to provide an analysis that demystifies the discourse used to understand Japan. How does such an analysis aid us in understanding the practical realities of social life in Japan? What lessons does Japan offer us about the consequences of hyper-rationalization driven by consumerist capitalism in which the state plows, seeds, and cultivates the social soil so much in its obsession with economic growth that other fruits, such as a healthy civil society, have trouble taking root? Also, what lessons can Japan teach us about social scientific methodology in general?
