How the Japanese Became Foreign to Themselves: The Impact of Globalization on the Private and Public Spheres in Japan

Paperback, 234 pages, NOT ex-library. Clean book with unmarked text. -- Contents: 1. A Different Perspective on Globalization [Root cause of the problem; Mainstream perception of globalization; Expansion of private society interests into the public sphere; Change without purpose in Japan; A tentative definition of globalization; Joint tradition of East and West (Individual conscientiousness as common fundament; Virtue and honor; Honorable competition and honorable collaboration; Phren and hara; Shame; Superiority, excellence, honor and fame; Power of (male) friendship); Saigo Takamori's political legacy; Deep humanity of Samurai spirit (Samurai principles at work: the Aland conflict); Neoconservative reaction to globalization: wrong answers to the right question; Myths and traditions that have been invented to support the globalization of Japan (Invented tradition: - national male blood purity - family unit ie as organization principle - state Shinto and emperor deification - wa as a top down social construct - absolute equality); Myth of the absence of a free pre-Meiji public sphere (Kugai, muen, raku; Horizontal public bonds; Seken, musi, ikai, shakai; Public sphere as embodied by zatsudan village talk; Fukuzawa's and Maruyama's dilemma); No Meiji ideology? A critical discussion of Eisenstadt; Birth of parliamentarism (Legislative process after the war); Globalization, diversification and borderless world: a comparative perspective; Shortcomings of globalization (Subtle racism: - foreigners do not legally exist in Japan - continued violation of the international children convention - pressure to adopt a Japanese name - new fingerprinting law as from 2007); Civil sector as counterbalance to state rule (Example of a civic grass root movement which has turned political: the Kanagawa Network Movement); German way of political equality; Social disparity and new poverty; Educated housewives and labor shortage; A child care leave that does not relieve parents; Government sponsored abuse of Asian trainees; Education without ethical principles (Learning from the wisdom of Japan: kateika education; Case study on Brazilian government schools; Abduction and kidnapping of citizens; Killing in secret); Protecting the spirit of the peace constitution; Direct democracy to supplement the representative system; A critical review of Fujiwara's bestseller The dignity of the nation]; 2. Invisible Impact of Globalization on Psychopathology and Mental Health [Crimes by mentally impaired offenders; Cultural perceptions and regulation of the profession; Overview of structural and cultural aspects of psychopathology since Meiji restoration (Context of psychopathology: family patterns and motherhood expectations; Taijin kyofusho; Myth of the selfless ideal mother; Ajase complex; Reinvention of depression as a disease; Schizophrenia; Eating disorders; Amae or fostering dependence on others; Hikikomori); Success of client centered therapy in Japan; Public reaction to suicide; Ethnic identity confusion; Violent anti-social behavior among juveniles and early adults (Cho case); Fatherless society syndrome; Dangers of psychological self-negation (Aum case); Social reaction to the illness of Princess Masako]; 3. Ecological Utopia [From the pre-Meiji discourse of peace with nature to the post-Meiji exploitation; Historic phases of pollution; Waste and packaging problem; Energy conservation and new energy; Our daily drives; Pitfalls of solar energy; Nuclear power card; Ecotaxes and carbon taxes; Emissions Trading Schemes ETS; Biodiversity (Cost of human development: Towards the extinction of the black and brown bear); Hokkaido: the lost dream; Organic farming and food self-sufficiency; Environmental NGOs: the fight of David against Goliath; Destruction of cultural heritage; Learning from the ecological wisdom of Germany; Carbon capture and storage; Environmental education; Power of the consumer; Power of court justice]; Conclusion & Outlook; References; Index.…