Sociology of Japanese Youth

<p>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.</p><p>The chapters include case studies covering issues such as:</p><p>Returnee children (kikokushijo)</p><p>Compensated dating (enjo kōsai)</p><p>Corporal punishment (taibatsu)</p><p>Bullying (ijime)</p><p>Child abuse (jidō gyakutai)</p><p>The withdrawn youth (hikikomori) and</p><p>NEETs (not in education employment or training)</p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p>