Explore the vast range of titles available.

This book is a one-man ethnography that seeks to understand life at the bottom of Japanese society through the personality of day laborer and street-philosopher Kimitsu Nishikawa. Through interviews with Kimitsu, Tom Gill analyzes life in the Yokohama slum district of Kotobuki-a district in which welfare has come to replace labor.

\"The book gathers the personal reflections about what the author learned about central bank and monetary policy during the tumultuous five years (2008-2013) during which he served as governor of the Bank of Japan. Many books have been written about the global financial crisis by academics and influential policymakers, including central bank governors. This book focuses on the experience of the Japanese, which is deeply important. The issues covered range from the financial bubble, the financial crisis, deflation, the rapid aging of the population, and the experiences of Japan on the frontier of unconventional monetary policy (QE and forward guidance). But just focusing on analytics of monetary policy is too narrow. Various activities of the central bank-financial supervision, payment and settlement services, and crisis management in the event of severe natural disaster, such as the earthquake hitting Japan in 2011-are covered. The political economy aspect and governance issue of central banks-the role of unelected officials in a democratic society-are also intensively discussed.\"

An in-depth look at Japan's economic malaise and the steps it must take to compete globallyIn Japanization, Bloomberg columnist William Pesek—based in Tokyo—presents a detailed look at Japan's continuing twenty-year economic slow-down, the political and economic reasons behind it, and the policies it could and should undertake to return to growth and influence. Despite new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's promise of economic revitalization, investor optimism about the future, and plenty of potential, Japanization reveals why things are unlikely to change any time soon.Pesek argues that \"Abenomics,\" as the new policies are popularly referred to, is nothing more than a dressed-up version of the same old fiscal and monetary policies that have left Japan with crippling debt, interest rates at zero, and constant deflation. He explores the ten forces that are stunting Japan's growth and offers prescriptions for fixing each one.Offers a skeptical counterpoint to the popular rosy narrative on the economic outlook for JapanGives investors practical and detailed insight on the real condition of Japan's economyReveals ten factors stunting Japan's growth and why they are unlikely to be solved any time soonExplains why most of what readers believe they know about Japan's economy is wrongIncludes case studies of some of the biggest Japanese companies, including Olympus, Japan Airlines, Sony, and Toyota, among othersFor many investors, businesspeople, and economists, Japan's long economic struggle is difficult to comprehend, particularly given the economic advantages it appears to have over its neighbors. Japanization offers a ground-level look at why its problems continue and what it can do to change course.

The Japanese economy has experienced a structural deflationary gap since the mid-1970s. Although the gap was decreasing in the bubble period, the deflationary economy has become more serious since the bursting of the bubble. Accordingly, this book attempts to examine the causes of the Japanese deflationary economy, characterized as a structural deflation and discusses how to alleviate the prolonged slowdown in order to restore Japan to a trajectory of high economic growth, with a special focus on the function of income distribution. In addition, not only income distribution flows but also accumulation of assets and debts in the household sector are taken into account for improving the prolonged economic stagnation of Japan by employing an econometric analysis with modeling and forecasting techniques. Furthermore, this book makes a long-term forecast of the Japanese economy, up to the fiscal year 2030, with policy scenario simulations in order to capture the long-term growth path of the Japanese economy and to analyze the effects of alternative policies on the economy.

Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2009! In its quarter-century-long shift from communism to capitalism, China has transformed itself from a desperately poor nation into a country with one of the fastest-growing and largest economies in the world. Doug Guthrie examines the reforms driving the economic genesis in this compact and highly readable introduction to contemporary China. He highlights the social, cultural and political factors fostering this revolutionary change and interweaves a broad structural analysis with a consideration of social changes at the micro and macro levels. In this new, revised edition author Guthrie updates his story on modern China and provides the latest authoritative data and examples from current events to chart where this dynamically changing society is headed and what the likely consequences for the rest of the world will be.

This spirited and engaging multidisciplinary volume pins its focus on the lived experiences and cultural depictions of women's mobility and labor in Japan. The theme of \"modern girls\" continues to offer a captivating window into the changes that women's roles have undergone during the course of the last century. Here we encounter Japanese women inhabiting the most modern of spaces, in newly created professions, moving upward and outward, claiming the public life as their own: shop girls, elevator girls, dance hall dancers, tour bus guides, airline stewardesses, international beauty queens, overseas teachers, corporate soccer players, and even female members of the Self-Defense Forces. Directly linking gender, mobility, and labor in 20th and 21st century Japan, this collection brings to life the ways in which these modern girls—historically and contemporaneously—have influenced social roles, patterns of daily life, and Japan's global image. It is an ideal guidebook for students, scholars, and general readers alike.

This article presents a narrative of the unfolding of the Second Demographic Transition (SDT) since the theory was first formulated in 1986. The first part recapitulates the foundations of the theory, and documents the spread of the SDT to the point that it now covers most European populations. Also for Europe, it focuses on the relationship between the SDT and the growing heterogeneity in period fertility levels. It is shown that the current positive relationship between SDT and TFR levels is not a violation of the SDT theory, but the outcome of a \"split correlation\" with different sub-narratives concerning the onset of fertility postponement and the degree of subsequent recuperation in two parts of Europe. The second part of the article addresses the issue of whether the SDT has spread or is currently spreading in industrialized Asian countries. Evidence gathered for Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan is presented. That evidence pertains to both the macro-level (national trends in postponement of marriage and parenthood, rise of cohabitation) and the micro-level (connections between individual values orientations and postponement of parenthood). Strong similarities are found with SDT patterns in Southern Europe, except for the fact that parenthood is still very rare among Asian cohabiting partners.

This is a best-seller in China and a geopolitical book for our times. As a leading thinker from China, Zhang Weiwei provides an original, comprehensive and engrossing study on the rise of China and its effective yet controversial model of development, and the book has become a centerpiece of an unfolding debate within China on the nature and future of the world's most populous nation and its possible global impact. China's rise, according to Zhang, is not the rise of an ordinary country, but the rise of a different type of country, a country sui generis, a civilizational state, a new model of development and a new political discourse which indeed questions many of the Western assumptions about democracy, good governance and human rights. The book is as analytical as it is provocative, and should be required reading for everyone concerned with the rise of China and its global implications.

Asian Economic Systems provides readers with a crisp analytic framework, concepts and narrative highlighting contemporary Asia's systemic diversity. The framework facilitates insightful comparison with the western neoclassical ideal. This method allows students to easily appreciate the special virtues of various Asian economic systems, and compare them with those offered in the west. This objective is buttressed with background material on Asian economic history where appropriate, together with basic data on Asian and global economic performance to help students integrate concepts with experience.

Soft power has become a very popular concept in international affairs, appearing in government policy papers, academic discussions, and the popular media. In China, soft power has become one of the most frequently used phrases among political leaders, leading academics, and journalists. Defined against hard power, which often involves threat and coercion, soft power applies attraction, persuasion, and cooperation, finding its sources in culture, political values, and foreign policies. China, rich in culture and traditional philosophy, boasts abundant sources of soft power. Soft Power attempts to analyze the domestic and international views of China's soft power, the main strengths and weaknesses of China's soft power, and the application of soft power in China's international politics. It provides a comprehensive exploration of the soft power dimension in China's foreign relations by integrating views from various disciplines, such as history, education, culture, political economy, comparative politics, and philosophy. The book argues that soft power has become a very popular concept in China, that China is contemplating and exploring an innovative strategy in its rise and international politics, and that there have been quite a few notable elements of this in China's diplomatic practice, including softer rhetoric, promotion of the Chinese culture abroad, economic diplomacy, and image building. The book also argues that the limitations of China's soft power primarily stem from political values and China's own transitions, and reflects the reality that views and opinions regarding China's soft power are fairly diverse both in China and in the international arena. Soft power is a useful and important perspective by which to understand Chinese foreign policy and the future evolution of China's role in international politics. This study is a pioneering work, providing a new perspective for the study of Chinese foreign policy and the rise of China that will appeal to scholars of Chinese foreign policy