A Sociology of Japanese Youth: From Returnees to NEETs (Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies)

Over the past thirty years, whilst Japan has produced a diverse set of youth cultures which have had a major impact on popular culture across the globe, it has also developed a succession of youth problems which have led to major concerns within the country itself. Drawing on detailed empirical fieldwork, the authors of this volume set these issues in a clearly articulated ‘social constructionist’ framework, and put forth a sociology of Japanese youth problems which argues that there is a certain predictability about the way in which these problems are discovered, defined and dealt with. The chapters include case studies covering issues such as: Returnee children (kikokushijo) Compensated dating (enjo kōsai) Corporal punishment (taibatsu) Bullying (ijime) Child abuse (jidō gyakutai) The withdrawn youth (hikikomori) and NEETs (not in education, employment or training) By examining these various social problems collectively, A Sociology of Japanese Youth explains why particular youth problems appeared when they did and what lessons they can provide for the study of youth problems in other societies. This book will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Japanese society and culture, the sociology of Japan, Japanese anthropology and the comparative sociology of youth studies. This text puts forth a sociology of Japanese youth problems showing that the Japanese media draw on an equally, if not more, perplexing gallery of social categories when it discusses youth than affluent Western societies. Over the past thirty years, whilst Japan has produced a diverse set of youth cultures which have had a major impact on popular culture across the globe, it has also developed a succession of youth problems which have led to major concerns within the country itself. Drawing on detailed empirical fieldwork, the authors of this volume set these issues in a clearly articulated social constructionist framework, and put forth a sociology of Japanese youth problems which argues that there is a certain predictability about the way in which these problems are discovered, defined and dealt with. The chapters include case studies covering issues such as: Returnee children (kikokushijo) Compensated dating (enjo kosai) Corporal punishment (taibatsu) Bullying (ijime) Child abuse (jido gyakutai) The withdrawn youth (hikikomori) and NEETs (not in education, employment or training) By examining these various social problems collectively, A Sociology of Japanese Youth explains why particular youth problems appeared when they did and what lessons they can provide for the study of youth problems in other societies. This book will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Japanese society and culture, the sociology of Japan, Japanese anthropology and the comparative sociology of youth studies "Over the past thirty years, at the same time as Japan has produced a diverse set of youth cultures - such as anime and manga - which have had a major impact on popular culture across the globe, it has also developed a succession of youth problems which have led to major concerns within the country itself. Drawing on detailed empirical fieldwork, the authors set these issues in a clearly articulated 'social constructionist' framework, and put forth a sociology of Japanese youth problems which argues that the Japanese media draw on an equally, if not more, perplexing gallery of social categories when it discusses youth than affluent Western societies such as the US or UK. Moreover, the book contends that Japan is no less replete with social problems involving young people and no less capable of generating hysteria over the fate of its youth. The chapters include case studies covering issues such as: Returnee children, Compensated dating, Corporeal punishment, Child abuse, The withdrawn youth, NEET (not in education, employment or training). By examining these various social problems collectively, A sociology of Japanese youth shows how seemingly disparate events follow a similar pattern and how clusters of concepts are historically linked."--Publisher's description. Cover 1 A SOCIOLOGY OF JAPANESE YOUTH: From returnees to NEETs 8 Copyright 9 CONTENTS 10 ILLUSTRATIONS 12 CONTRIBUTORS 15 PREFACE 17 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 19 A NOTE TO THE READER 21 1 MAKING SENSE OF YOUTH PROBLEMS 22 2 FROM PITIFUL TO PRIVILEGED?: The fifty-year story of the changing perception and status of Japan's returnee children (kikokushijo) 51 3 NARRATIVES AND STATISTICS: How compensated dating (enjo kōsai) was sold 75 4 TAIBATSU: From educational solution to social problem to marginalized non-issue 102 5 THE 'DISCOVERY' AND 'REDISCOVERY' OF CHILD ABUSE (JIDŌ GYAKUTAI) IN JAPAN 119 6 HIKIKOMORI: How private isolation caught the public eye 143 7 NEETs: The strategy within the category 160 8 SHIFTING LANDSCAPES: The social context of youth problems in an ageing nation 180 GLOSSARY 195 INDEX 206 Making sense of youth problems / Tuukka Toivonen and Yuki Imoto From pitiful to privileged? : the fifty year story of the changing perception and status of Japan's returnee children (kikokushijo) / Roger Goodman Narratives and statistics : how compensated dating (enjo kosai) was sold / Sharon Kinsella Taibatsu : from educational solution to social problem to marginalized non-issue / Aaron Miller The "discovery" and "rediscovery" of child abuse (jido gyakutai) in Japan / Roger Goodman Hikikomori : how private isolation caught the public eye / Sachiko Horiguchi NEETs : the strategy within the category / Tuukka Toivonen Shifting landscapes : the social context of youth problems in an ageing nation / Roger Goodman.