Japan's Quiet Transformation: Social Change and Civil Society in 21st Century Japan (ISSN)

Great book describing all facets of Japan following its fall from grace after its booming 1980s. I did not find all of the sections of the book equally captivating (due to personal biases...or maybe I'm being too lenient) and glossed over a few, but I was able to do that since the book was organized so nicely. Each chapter is a good length at about 30 pages x 10 chapters for a total of just over 300 pages. There are relevant pictures included in black and white, and that substantially helped the book avoid lapsing into dry, academic writing that I have found in some other books on this subject. I fancy economics and business, and the book covered those to my satisfaction.I've long been interested in Japanese pop culture (anime, karaoke, video games), and I had a romanticized image of all things Japan upon starting this book. The book put a significant damper on that image, but I feel like I have a much more balanced view of Japan now. The book seemed to cover everything and in a fairly succinct manner--some parts felt a little repetitive but they were easily skimmed. It was a good balance between brevity and thoroughness, and that's something I can always appreciate. I think I could actually have a conversation about Japanese present and future now, it's a good feeling.The book definitely takes up a rather pessimistic view of modern Japan, although the author closes on a hopeful note (perhaps obligatory, come to think of it). Westerners I think might also have a flowery picture of Japan like I did--samurai, loyalty to corporations, honor and things like that. But the author addresses all of those things realistically. If you think about any issue facing Japan right now, the book is likely to touch on it: demographics, immigration, women, youth, corruption and more. Very well rounded. Recommended if you're curious about what is going on with Japan and what might be in store for its future. A little depressing, but information is the key to progress.

First, the bad news. The writing style in this book is extremely poor. The author strings cliche after cliche repeatedly, bloating the chapters out of proportion to the substance. He also resorts to bombastic hyperbole and even puns of the worst sort. A little humor never hurt anyone (and the editorial cartoons from the Japan Times included are funny as well as relevant), but there is such a thing as humor that is pointless and in bad taste--as when, in discussing the effects of the Kobe earthquake on public perceptions, Kingston quips "The aftershocks of Kobe were felt throughout the polity, weakening the foundations of the bureaucracy and shaking people's confidence in those who govern." Yuck!Now, the good news. The thesis of this book is really on target. Once Japan's economy started slowing down to a halfway sane rate, the American media jumped all over this when they deigned to give Japan news coverage at all, painting the picture that Japan was stagnating and generally going to hell in a handbasket. This book is a much needed corrective to such a portrayal, giving the reader a full view of the energy and vitality in Japanese society today (and suggesting that the bursting of rapid economic growth may in some ways be a good thing...gasp, what heresy!) The topics and issues the author focuses on are all interesting and important, key in many ways to knowing what's going on in contemporary Japan. And, subtracting the terrible writing style, each chapter is quite informative.

Writing about most countries goes through cycles, where perceptive observation along with cliches and received ideas gel into a conventional wisdom that lingers, obscuring the view and damaging the public's ability to come to grips with new realities. Few countries submit to this rule more than Japan, which seems to accumulate cliches faster than just about any other place. The cliches congeal quickly, making it all the more difficult to overturn the conventional wisdom. Here is a book that mercifully gives us a fresh new take on Japan by an author who marries a certain and intimate knowledge of of the country with the courage to set off in his own direction. Kingston has written THE necessary Japan book for the middle years of this decade.

A masterful look at post-bubble era Japan and the important social, political and economic changes that have quietly taken place while the rest of the world has been bemoaning the nation's long stagnation. The author has chosen an unconventional thesis and backs it up with an impressive amount of research. This is a book for the serious student of Japan, justifiably praised by the Economist and the Financial Times, among other prestigious publications. It should be required reading in Japan studies departments on campuses all around the globe.

After all the books out about Japans economic collapse its nice to see not all is lost. Kingston shows how many of the changes happening in Japan will make it a better society.The book dosen't get 5 stars because there are a few boring chapters that are way to long for the subject matter.Highly suggest this book for anyone interest in modern Japan

Japan's Quiet Transformation is one of the most important books published about Japan in recent years. It is unsparing in its critique of Japan's many ills. But it goes well beyond the standard doom-laden portrayal to paint a picture of a country in the midst of a sweeping transformation. At a glance, it seems like an unlikely yarn. The subject is Japan, after all. But Quiet Transformation is a compelling and entertaining read that stands to become a classic on Japan's largely ignored battle to turn itself around in the early 21st century -- albeit with no guarantees of success.