Contemporary Japan

Jeff Kingston is Professor of History and Director of Asian Studies at the Japan Campus of Temple University. He has written widely on modern Japanese history and Japan's relations with Asia, including the books Japan in Transformation 1952–2000 (2001) and Japan's Quiet Transformation: Social Change and Civil Society in the 21st Century (2004). He has also edited Natural Disaster and Nuclear Crisis in Japan (2012). With academic interests that include a broader regional purview, he contributes to a variety of major publications and is regularly interviewed by global media outlets.

Praise for the previous edition "One of the foremost foreign writers on modern Japan, Kingston provides another wide-ranging analysis of interest to all of those with a stake in the nation's future." The Japan Times"Kingston's discussion of the changes Japan faces in the 21st century is among the most comprehensive and accessible treatments of Japan's recent history available." Choice

• Map viiSeries Editor’s Preface viiiAcknowledgments xPart I Introduction 11 Transformations After World War II 32 The Lost Decade 23Part II Risk and Consequences 393 Defusing the Demographic Time Bomb 414 Families at Risk 605 Jobs at Risk 77Part III Politics and Consequences 936 Contemporary Politics 957 Security and the Peace Constitution 1158 Immigration 1369 War Memory and Responsibility 154Part IV Environment and Disaster 17510 Environmental Issues 17711 3/11: Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Crisis 198Part V Institutions at Risk 22112 The Imperial Family 22313 Yakuza 241Part VI Postscript 26114 Prospects 263Glossary 270Notes 278Further Reading 293Index 302