Japan--why it works, why it doesn't : economics in everyday life / edited by James Mak ... [et al.].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Mak, James.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

National characteristics, Japanese.

Japan--Economic conditions--1945-.

Japan--Social life and customs--1945-.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (240 p.)

Place of Publication:

Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, c1998.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This collection of twenty-six essays furnishes concise explanations of everyday Japanese life in simplified economic terms. They begin with such questions as, Do Japanese live better than Americans? Why don't Japanese workers claim all their overtime? Why don't Japanese use personal checking accounts? Why do Japanese give and receive so many gifts? The essays are written in non-technical, accessible language intended for the undergraduate or advanced placement high school student taking an economics course or studying Japan in a social science course. The general reader will find the book a fascinating compendium of facts on Japanese culture and daily life.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Living

1. Do the Japanese Live Better Than Americans? / Horioka, Charles Yuji

2. Why Avoid the Altar? / Mason, Andrew / Ogawa, Naohiro

3. Why Go to School after School? / Abe, Shigeyuki / Igawa, Kazuhiro

4. Why So Many Gifts? / Parry, Robert

5. Why Is Pachinko So Popular? / Abe, Shigeyuki / Mak, James

6. Why Are the Japanese Obsessed with Luxury Brand-Name Goods? / Nishiyama, Kazuo

7. Why Are There So Many Small Shops in Japan? / Mak, James / Sunder, Shyam

8. How Do the Japanese and Americans Spend Their Money? / Mak, James

9. How Can the Japanese Manage without Personal Checking Accounts? / Jinushi, Toshiki / Mak, James

10. What Are Most Japanese Doing on Tax Day? / McCleery, Robert K.

Work

11. Why Do Students Take It Easy at the University? / Abe, Shigeyuki / Nishijima, Shoji / Sunder, Shyam / Lupardus, Karen

12. Why Do Japanese Companies Hire Only Spring Graduates? / Higa, Teruyuki

13. Why Don't Workers Claim All Their Overtime? / Higa, Teruyuki / Lupardus, Karen

14. How Do Workers Get Paid? / Mitani, Naoki

15. Do the Japanese Work till They Drop? / Fukui, Yoshitaka

16. Why Do the Japanese Save So Much? / Horioka, Charles Yuji

System

17. Why Is Japan a Paradise of Vending Machines? / Parry, Robert

18. Why Do Doctors Prescribe So Many Pills? / Kawaura, Akihiko / LaCroix, Sumner J.

19. Why Do Bank Automatic Teller Machines Shut Down at 7 P.M.? / Sunder, Shyam

20. Why Is Rice So Expensive in Japan? / Hondai, Susumu

21. How Can the Japanese Spend So Little on Health Care? / Loke, Matthew / Mak, James

22. How Does Japan's Largest Bank Work? / Jinushi, Toshiki

23. Why Do So Many Japanese Contribute to Public TV? / Igawa, Kazuhiro / Mak, James

24. Why Are So Few People on Welfare in Japan? / Kimura, Yoko

25. What Are Keiretsu and Why Do Some U.S. Companies Dislike Them? / Kikuchi, Gary S.

26. Is Japan an Egalitarian Society? / Oshima, Harry T.

Glossary of Japanese Terms

Sources for Statistical Data on Japan

About the Contributors

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 28. Aug 2019)

"A Latitude 20 book."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-210) and index.

ISBN:

9780824863050

0824863054

9780585240596

0585240590

OCLC:

44955449