Precarious Japan

New
Paperback
2013
$34.07

In an era of irregular labor, nagging recession, nuclear contamination, and a shrinking population, Japan is facing precarious times. How the Japanese experience insecurity in their daily and social lives is the subject of Precarious Japan. Tacking between the structural conditions of socioeconomic life and the ways people are making do, or not, Anne Allison chronicles the loss of home affecting many Japanese, not only in the literal sense but also in the figurative sense of not belonging. Until the collapse of Japan's economic bubble in 1991, lifelong employment and a secure income were within reach of most Japanese men, enabling them to maintain their families in a comfortable middle-class lifestyle. Now, as fewer and fewer people are able to find full-time work, hope turns to hopelessness and security gives way to a pervasive unease. Yet some Japanese are getting by, partly by reconceiving notions of home, family, and togetherness.

Synopsis

In an era of irregular labor, nagging recession, nuclear contamination, and a shrinking population, Japan is facing precarious times. How the Japanese experience insecurity in their daily and social lives is the subject of Precarious Japan. Tacking between the structural conditions of socioeconomic life and the ways people are making do, or not, Anne Allison chronicles the loss of home affecting many Japanese, not only in the literal sense but also in the figurative sense of not belonging. Until the collapse of Japan's economic bubble in 1991, lifelong employment and a secure income were within reach of most Japanese men, enabling them to maintain their families in a comfortable middle-class lifestyle. Now, as fewer and fewer people are able to find full-time work, hope turns to hopelessness and security gives way to a pervasive unease. Yet some Japanese are getting by, partly by reconceiving notions of home, family, and togetherness.

$34.07

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
Publisher: Duke University Press
Published: 22 Nov 2013
ISBN 10: 0822355620
ISBN 13: 9780822355625
Book Overview: Precarious Japan reflects on how the Japanese are experiencing insecurity in the contemporary era of nagging recession, irregular labor, nuclear contamination, and a shrinking overall population with more and more elderly.

Media Reviews

Precarious Japan is a forward-thinking commentary on the current state of Japan, detailing a progressive history from the economic collapse in 1991 to how the country functions today in a modern, post-earthquake society. . . . For those wondering just how precarious Japan's future really is, this book is a good place to start. -- Jordan Sievers * Japan Times *
The only reason that I didn't burst into tears while reading this book is because of extreme self-control. -- Eustacia Tan * With Love from Japan blog *
Allison's book is an impressive tour through important public discourses in Japan today, rooted in extensive discussion of contemporary popular literature and media. -- Kathryn E. Goldfarb * Somatosphere *
[A]n important, thoughtful, and moving ethnography that deserves the attention of a wide audience. -- Carla Nappi * New Books in East Asian Studies *
. . . Allison's work reminds us of why ethnographic work is important. She skillfully weaves recent theories of the 'precarious' between personal accounts, interviews, statistics and textual analyses, making Precarious Japan as much an exemplar of the ethnographic methodology as an account of the vicissitudes of life in post-bubble, post-crisis and post-Fukushima Japan. -- Jamie Coates * Social Anthropology *
Precarious Japan is a compelling collection of examples and theories that connect overwhelming or shocking social problems in contemporary Japan with the realm of labor. . . . Although many of the examples are emotionally difficult to read, I am sure they will be very hard to forget. -- Allison Alexy * Anthropological Quarterly *
Allison's book announces a paradigm change. . . . The book is a valuable provocation. . . . Precarious Japan is a valuable incitement to imagine new narratives for Japan's present and future-and to locate Japan's experience in the context of global precarity. . . . -- Amy Borovoy * American Ethnologist *
Allison's ethnography of contemporary Japan, framed in terms of instability, poverty, hope, mud and the desire for belonging, is a compelling and timely work. -- Laura Dales * Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology *
Precarious Japan has implications far beyond Japan not only because similar problems exist in other market-dominated countries but also because she draws on the relevant theoretical literature to analyze Japan from a broader perspective. The breadth and depth of Allison's scholarship-and her insight into Japanese culture-are impressive. ... I highly recommend Precarious Japan for those interested in contemporary societies, especially Japan. It is also a good textbook for social sciences and humanities courses, inspiring students and generating fruitful discussions. -- Yohko Tsuji * American Anthropologist *
[A]n impressive ethnographic study of exclusion, precariousness and struggle that will leave no reader untouched. . . . Allison's new book will surely be highly impressive for many readers and a good resource for discussions in courses on contemporary Japan. -- David Chiavacci * Pacific Affairs *

Author Bio

Anne Allison is Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University. She is the author of Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination; Permitted and Prohibited Desires: Mothers, Comics, and Censorship in Japan; and Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure, and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club and a coeditor of the journal Cultural Anthropology.