electronic journal of
contemporary japanese studies

2. Dejima: reconstructed, re-imagined: Margerison, Jill; Review of: Mitchell, David (2010) , London: Sceptre, Paperback B-format ISBN 978-0-340-92158-6, 560 pages.; Posted: 26 October 2012
1. Managing in the Modern Corporation: Matanle, Peter; Review of: Hassard, J., McCann, L., and Morris, J. (2009) Managing in the Modern Corporation: The Intensification of Managerial Work in the USA, UK and Japan, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.; Posted: 1 May 2012

Book Reviews in 2011

7. Japan in Transformation, 1945-2010
Matanle, Peter
Review of: Kingston, J. (2011) Japan in Transformation 1945-2010, (2nd Edition), Harlow, UK: Longman.
Posted: 30 September 2011

6. Social Class in Contemporary Japan
Matanle, Peter
Review of: Ishida, H. and Slater, D. H. (Eds.) (2010) Social Class in Contemporary Japan: Structures, Sorting and Strategies, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Posted: 30 September 2011

5. Better to Remain Silent? Japan and the G7/8, 1975-2002
Morris, Narrelle
Review of: Dobson, Hugo (2004) Japan and the G7/8, 1975-2002, London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon.
Posted: 30 September 2011

4. Modern Monetary Policy in Theory and Practice: Central Banking and Financial Markets
Heckel, Markus
Review of: Shirakawa Masaaki (2008) Gendai no Kin'yū Seisaku: Riron to Jissai [Modern Monetary Policy in Theory and Practice: Central Banking and Financial Markets], (in Japanese), Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Shinbun Shuppan Sha.
Posted: 31 May 2011

3. Mechanical, Academic, Anime: Mechademia 4 and Mechademia 5
Iles, Timothy
Review of: Lunning, Frenchy, ed., Mechademia 4: War/Time, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2009, and Lunning, Frenchy, ed., Mechademia 5: Fanthropologies, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010.
Posted: 31 May 2011

2. Inventing a Japan through Theatre
Iles, Timothy
Review of: Lee, Josephine (2010) The Japan of Pure Invention: Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press.
Posted: 31 January 2011

1. I Spy ... The Failure of Japanese Military Intelligence in World War II
Iles, Timothy
Review of: Kotani, Ken (2009) Japanese Intelligence in World War II, Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
Posted: 31 January 2011

Book Reviews in 2010

9. Militarisation, Colonisation, Subordination, Resistance
Iles, Timothy
Review of: Shigematsu, Setsu, and Camacho, Keith (eds) (2010) Militarized Currents: Toward a Decolonized Future in Asia and the Pacific.
Posted: 30 September 2010

8. Private Realms of the State: Female Subjectivity and the Japanese Home in the USA
Matsumoto, Noriko
Review of: Kurotani, Sawa (2005) Home Away from Home: Japanese Corporate Wives in the United States.
Posted: 30 September 2010

7. Dazai on the Couch
Withrow, Kaleb
Review of: Nakano, Hisao (2009) Dazai Osamu: Shōgai to sakuhin no shinsō shinri (Osamu Dazai: The deep psychology of his life and works).
Posted: 30 September 2010

6. A Biography of Self-Loss: The Life and Works of Atsushi Nakajima
Askew, Rie Kido
Review of: Minato Kawamura (2009) Rōshitsu seiden - Nakajima Atsushi no bungaku to shōgai (A Biography of Self-Loss: The Life and Works of Atsushi Nakajima).
Posted: 12 July 2010

5. Japanese Workplaces in Transition?
Matanle, Peter
Review of: Meyer-Ohle, Hendrik (2009) Japanese Workplaces in Transition: Employee Perceptions.
Posted: 20 April 2010

4. Think Global, Fear Local
Gelb, Joyce
Review of: Leheny, David (2009) Think Global, Fear Local: Sex Violence and Anxiety in Contemporary Japan.
Posted: 20 April 2010

3. Fear on Film: Japanese Horror Cinema
Iles, Timothy
Review of: Balmain, Colette (2008) Introduction to Japanese Horror Film.
Posted: 10 March 2010

2. Japan's Grand Strategy: Goldilocks and the Search for the Perfect Porridge
Envall, H.D.P.
Review of: Samuels, Richard J. (2007) Securing Japan: Tokyo's Grand Strategy and the Future of East Asia.
Posted: 29 January 2010

1. Japan Yesterday and Today
Leimbigler, Sheri Zhang
Review of: Harrison, Trevor W. (2008) 21st Century Japan: A New Sun Rising.
Posted: 29 January 2010

Book Reviews in 2009

6. Arthur Waley: Translator of the Tale of Genji
Askew, Rie Kido
Review of: Sukehiro Hirakawa (2008) Āsā Weirī - Genji monogatari no hon'yakusha (Arthur Waley: The Translator of The Tale of Genji).
Posted: 30 November 2009

5. Connected by Characters: Animating the Postmodern Community
Iles, Timothy
Review of: Azuma, Hiroki (2009) Otaku: Japan's Database Animals.
Posted: 31 October 2009

4. Modernity's Female Face
Iles, Timothy
Review of: Russell, Catherine (2008) The Cinema of Naruse Mikio: Women and Japanese Modernity.
Posted: 20 September 2009

3. How Japan's Research and Development Went Global
Matsumoto, Noriko
Review of: Gregory P. Corning (2004) Japan and the Politics of Techno-Globalism.
Posted: 20 September 2009

2. Japan and Russia: Three Centuries of Mutual Images
Bukh, Alexander
Review of: Mikhailova Yulia and M. William, W. Steele eds. (2008)Japan and Russia: Three Centuries of Mutual Images.
Posted: 15 April 2009

1. Keeping Things Well at Hand
Iles, Tim
Review of: Jacoby, Alexander (2008), A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors.
Posted: 15 April 2009

Book Reviews in 2008

9. American Japan - Japanese America
Zaborowski, Rafal
Review of: Kelts, Roland (2006) Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S..
Posted: 22 December 2008

8. Picking at the Wound: Nanjing 1937-38
Leibold, James
Review of: Li, Fei Fei, Robert Sabella and David Liu (eds) (2002) Nanking 1937: Memory and Healing, andWakabayashi, Bob Tadashi (ed) (2007) The Nanking Atrocity 1937-38: Complicating the Picture.
Posted: 15 November 2008

7. Real Zen Buddhism: Finding Life Between Disembodied Ideas and Funeral Practices
Anton Sevilla
Review of: Borup, Jørn, (2008) Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhism: Myōshinji, A Living Religion.
Posted: 28 October 2008

6. The Accidental Pioneer: John Manjiro in Japan and the United States
Ikeda, Yoko
Review of: Kawada, Shoryo (2003) Drifting Toward the Southeast: The Story of Five Japanese Castaways: A Complete Translation of Hyoson Kiryaku(A Brief Account of Drifting Toward the Southeast), as Told to the Court of Lord Yamauchi of Tosa in 1852 by John Manjiro.
Posted: 15 August 2008

5. Building Better Architecture in Japan
Coaldrake, William H.
Review of: Buntrock, Dana (2001) Japanese Architecture as a Collaborative Process: Opportunities in a Flexible Construction Culture.
Posted: 28 April 2008

4. Context Over All: Reading Content in a Circle
Iles, Timothy
Review of: Phillips, Alastair and Stringer, Julian, eds. (2007) Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts.
Posted: 28 April 2008

3. Yoseba: Homelessness and Day Labor Among Japan's Underclass
Gelb, Joyce
Review of: Aoki, Hideo (2006) Japan's Underclass: Day Laborers and the Homeless.
Posted: 4 March 2008

2. Youth Deviance and Adult Control
Okano, Kaori
Review of: Yoder, Robert Stuart (2004) Youth Deviance in Japan: Class Reproduction of Non-conformity.
Posted: 15 February 2008

1. No Trace of Influence? Japan's North Korea Policy and the Great Powers
Envall, H.D.P.
Review of: Hagström, Linus and Marie Söderberg (eds) (2006) North Korea Policy: Japan and the Great Powers.
Posted: 14 January 2008

Book Reviews in 2007

7. Representations of Reality in Haruki Murakami's Fiction
Nakanishi, Wendy Jones
Review of: Seats. Michael (2006) Murakami Haruki: The Simulacrum in Contemporary Japanese Culture.
Posted: 24 October 2007

6. Thinking About Younger People's Employment in 21st Century Japan
Ishiguro, Kuniko
Review of: Jō, Shigeyuki (2006) Wakamono wa Naze 3nen de Kaisha wo Yamerunoka? NenkōJoretsu ga Ubau Nihon no Mirai [Why do young people quit after three years? The seniority-based personnel management system deprives Japan of its future],
and Honda, Yuki, Asao, Naitō and Gotō, Kazutomo (2006) 'Nīto' 'tte Iuna! [Don't call them NEETs!].
Posted: 9 October 2007

5. Lovers and Losers of Different Colours
Wright, Wendy Ella
Review of: Molasky, Michael S. (2001) The American Occupation of Japan and Okinawa: Literature and Memory.
Posted: 9 October 2007

4. Maladies and Remedies
Ferber, Katalin
Review of: Ito, Takatoshi, Hugh Patrick and David E. Weinstein (eds) (2005) Reviving Japan's Economy: Problems and Prescriptions.
Posted: 24 July 2007

3. Field of Spears: The Last Mission of the Jordan Crew
Seaton, Philip
Review of: Hadley, Gregory (2007) Field of Spears: The Last Mission of the Jordan Crew.
Posted: 14 June 2007

2. The Problem of Context: The Context of Problems
Iles, Timothy
Review of: McDonald, Keiko I. (2006) Reading a Japanese Film: Cinema in Context.
Posted: 31 January 2007

1. The Political Economy of the Japanese Financial Big Bang: Institutional Change in Finance and Public Policy Making
Kamikubo, Masato
Review of: Toya, Tetsuro (2003), Kinyū Biggu Ban no Seiji Keizai Gaku: Kinyū to Kōkyō Seisaku Sakutei ni okeru Seido Henka [The Political Economy of the Japanese Financial Big Bang: Institutional Change in Finance and Public Policy Making].
Posted: 31 January 2007

Book Reviews in 2006

5. Contesting the Japanese Constitution
Review of: Hook, Glenn D. and Gavan McCormack (2001), Japan's Contested Constitution: Documents and Analysis.
Envall, H. D. P.
Posted: 7 December 2006

4. 'Toppamono' Miyazaki Manabu: Adding Colour to Understanding Japan
Review of: Miyazaki, Manabu (2005) Toppamono: Outlaw, Radical, Suspect - My Life in Japan's Underworld.
Hood, Christopher P.
Posted: 11 May 2006

3. Travels in Japanese Politics, Old and New
Review of: Hayes, Louis D. (2005), Introduction to Japanese Politics, Fourth Edition,
McCormack, Gavan (2001), The Emptiness of Japanese Affluence, Revised Edition, with a foreword by Norma Field,
and Bowen, Roger W. (2003), Japan's Dysfunctional Democracy: The Liberal Democratic Party and Structural Corruption.
Envall, H. D. P.
Posted: 27 March 2006

2. Japanese Higher Education in Transition? Observing the Dynamics of Reform
Review of: Eades, J.S., Goodman, Roger and Hada, Yumiko (eds) (2005) The 'Big Bang' in Japanese Higher Education Reform: The 2004 Reforms and the Dynamics of Change,
and Lee-Cunin, Marina (2004) Student Views in Japan: A Study of Japanese Students' Perceptions of Their First Years at University.
Matanle, Peter
Posted: 2 February 2006

1. The World of Savings
Review of: Scher, Mark J. and Naoyuki Yoshino (eds) (2004), Small Savings Mobilization and Asian Economic Development: The Role of the Postal Financial Services.
Ferber, Katalin
Posted: 10 January 2006

Book Reviews in 2005

5. Rediscovering Benshi: Narration in the Japanese Silent Film Era
Review of: Dym, Geoffrey A. (2003) Benshi, Japanese Silent Film Narrators, and their Forgotten Narrative Art of Setsumei: A History of Japanese Silent Film Narration.
Shimoda, Tomoko
Posted: 9 November 2005

4. Japan at the Millenium: Changes and Constants in Culture and Society
Review of: Edgington, David (2003) Japan at the Millenium: Joining Past and Future.
Bassani, Cherylynn
Posted: 31 October 2005

3. Fragile Memories
Review of: Nornes, Abé Mark (2001), Japanese Documentary Film: The Meiji Era through Hiroshima.
Iles, Timothy
Posted: 19 May 2005

2. Amakudari
Review of: Richard A. Colignon and Chikako Usui (2003) Amakudari: The Hidden Fabric of Japan's Economy.
Cardwell, Paul James
Posted: 22 April 2005

1. Making 'Citizens' into Political Subjects
Review of: Sasaki-Uemura, W. M. (2001), Organizing the Spontaneous: Citizen Protest in Postwar Japan.
Tanji, Miyume
Posted: 6 April 2005

Book Reviews in 2004

6. Context Dependent Success: International Human Resource Management in Japanese Firms
Review of: Keeley, Timothy Dean (2001) International Human Resource Managament in Japanese Firms: Their Greatest Challenge.
Ishiguro, Kuniko
Posted: 15 September 2004

5. Japanese Negotiating Style: More Than an Interested Bridge Partner
Hugo Dobson
Review of: Michael Blaker, Paul Giarra and Ezra Vogel (2002) Case Studies in Japanese Negotiating Behavior.
Posted: 5 May 2004

4. Inside the World of Japanese TV
Review of: Penn, Wm. (2003) The Couch Potato's Guide to Japan: Inside the World of Japanese TV.
McAuley, T. E.
Posted: 18 February 2004

3. The Sins of the Princes
Review of: Werner, Richard A. (2003), Princes of the Yen: Japan's Central Bankers and the Transformation of the Economy.
Ferber, Katalin
Posted: 16 February 2004

2. More than Just a Few Teaching Notes About Japan
Review of: Bowring, Richard and Noel J. Pinnington (eds) (2002), Teaching about Japan in Japan: A Handbook of Approaches to Teaching about Japan to non-Japanese Students.
Kolesova, Elena
Posted: 16 February 2004

1. Youth Policies and Youth Problems in Germany and Japan: Culture Specific Approaches to Social Integration
Review of: Kreitz-Sandberg, Susanne (ed.) (2002), Jugendliche in Japan und Deutschland. Soziale Integration im Vergleich [Youth in Japan and Germany: Social Integration in Comparison].
Oebel, Guido
Posted: 6 February 2004

Book Reviews in 2003

6. The Perennial Question: Is Japan Changing?
Review of: Schaede, Ulrike and William Grimes (eds) (2003) Japan's Managed Globalization: Adapting to the Twenty-first Century.
Hugo Dobson
Posted: 2 October 2003

5. Coping with Cultural Change: Japanese Emigrants to Australia
Review of: Sato, Machiko (2001) Farewell to Nippon.
Margerison, Jill Arase
Posted: 10 July 2003

4. Japan's Use of Economic Power: Balancing Between East Asia and the West
Review of: Wan, Ming (2001) Japan Between Asia and the West: Economic Power and Strategic Balance.
Nasstrom, Jens
Posted: 2 July 2003

3. Explaining Japan's International Relations: The Quiet Diplomacy of an A ikidō State
Review of: Hook, Glenn D., Julie Gilson, Christopher Hughes and Hugo Dobson (2001) Japan's International Relations: Politics, Economics and Security.
Envall, H. D. P.
Posted: 14 April 2003

2. The US-Japan Alliance and the Causes of Insecurity in North-East Asia
Review of: DiFilippo, Anthony (2002) The Challenges of the U.S.-Japan Military Arrangement: Competing Security Transitions in a Changing International Environment.
Matthews, Aaron
Posted: 17 February 2003

1. Citizen Activism in Japan: Toppling Preconceptions
Review of: Hirata, Keiko (2002) Civil Society in Japan.
Margerison, Jill Arase
Posted: 17 February 2003

Book Reviews in 2002

8. Surveying Kabuki: Classic Essays in English Language Scholarship
Review of: Leiter, Samuel L. (ed.) (2001) A Kabuki Reader: History and Performance.
Coaldrake, Kimi
Posted: 5 October 2002

7. Sōkaiya and Japanese Corporations
Review of: Szymkowiak, Kenneth (2002) Sokaiya: Extortion, Protection, and the Japanese Corporation.
Maruko, Eiko
Posted: 25 June 2002

6. Change in Japan's New Economy: Who Will Benefit?
Review of: Blomstrom, Magnus, Byron Gangnes, and Sumner La Croix (eds.) (2001) Japan's New Economy: Continuity and Change in the Twenty-First Century.
Ferber, Katalin
Posted: 25 June 2002

5. The Search for Remedies: Japan in the Years of Trial
Review of: Masuzoe, Yoichi (ed.) (2000) Years of Trial, Japan in the 1990s.
Yamazaki, Yukiko
Posted: 25 March 2002

4. Understanding Japan-US Relations in a Time of Unilateralism
Review of: Curtis, Gerald (ed.) (2000) New Perspectives on U.S.-Japan Relations.
Midford, Paul
Posted: 22 March 2002

3. Japan's New Challenge: Becoming a Multi-Ethnic Society?
Review of: Komai, Hiroshi (2001) Foreign Migrants in Contemporary Japan.
Abe, Atsuko
Posted: 10 February 2002

2. Unpacking the Japanese Educational Reform Debate
Review of: Christopher P. Hood (2001) Japanese Education Reform: Nakasone's Legacy.
Burnett, Bruce
Posted: 10 February 2002

1. Melting Pot or Homogeneity? An Examination of Modern Theories of the Japanese Ethnicity
Review of: Oguma Eiji (2002) The Genealogy of 'Japanese' Self-Images.
Askew, David
Posted: 31 January 2002

Book Reviews in 2001

2. The Japan-US Alliance: 21st Century Challenges in East Asia
Review of: Nishihara, Masashi (ed.) (2000), The Japan-US Alliance: New Challenges for the 21st Century.
Envall, H. D. P.
Posted: 10 October 2001

1. Being in and of the World: Globalisation and Social Change in Contemporary Japan
Review of: Clammer, John (2001), Japan and its Others: Globalization, Difference and the Critique of Modernity, and Eades J. S., Gill, Tom and Befu, Harumi (eds.) (2000), Globalization and Social Change in Contemporary Japan.
Matanle, Peter
Posted: 10 July 2001

electronic journal of contemporary japanese studies

Index of book reviews

Book Reviews in 2020

Book Reviews in 2019

Book Reviews in 2018

Book Reviews in 2017

Book Reviews in 2016

Book Reviews in 2015

Book Reviews in 2014

Book Reviews in 2013

Book Reviews in 2012