Description: Social policies reflect important ideas about the relationship between the state and the individual. This book examines this relationship in a number of unexplored areas in Japanese society, including policies relating to fertility, perinatal care, child care, sexuality and elder care. It concludes that a major transformation occurred during the 1990s as a result of Japan's changing economy, demography and civil society. The volume challenges many Western preconceptions about Japanese society.
Brief description: Roger Goodman is lecturer in the social anthropology of Japan at the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies and the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford. His publications include Children of the Japanese State: The Changing Role of Child Protection Institutions in Contemporary Japan (2000) and The East Asian Welfare Model: Welfare Orientalism and the State (1998).
Review Quotes: "From birth to death, from civil society to citizenship, these essays provide fascinating insights into Japanese life, culture and social policy. The claim that anthropologists can make useful contributions to understanding the relationship of state policies and citizens' lives is well demonstrated." Pacific Affairs