Lägg till bokmärkeShutting Out the Sun: How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation
The world’s second-wealthiest country, Japan once seemed poised to overtake America. But its failure to recover from the economic collapse of the early 1990s was unprecedented, and today it confronts an array of disturbing social trends. Japan has the highest suicide rate and lowest birthrate of all industrialized countries, and a rising incidence of untreated cases of depression. Equally as troubling are the more than one million young men who shut themselves in their rooms, withdrawin... (show more)
The world’s second-wealthiest country, Japan once seemed poised to overtake America. But its failure to recover from the economic collapse of the early 1990s was unprecedented, and today it confronts an array of disturbing social trends. Japan has the highest suicide rate and lowest birthrate of all industrialized countries, and a rising incidence of untreated cases of depression. Equally as troubling are the more than one million young men who shut themselves in their rooms, withdrawing from society, and the growing numbers of “parasite singles,” the name given to single women who refuse to leave home, marry, or bear children.
In Shutting Out the Sun, Michael Zielenziger argues that Japan’s rigid, tradition-steeped society, its aversion to change, and its distrust of individuality and the expression of self are stifling economic revival, political reform, and social evolution. Giving a human face to the country’s malaise, Zielenziger explains how these constraints have driven intelligent, creative young men to become modern-day hermits. At the same time, young women, better educated than their mothers and earning high salaries, are rejecting the traditional path to marriage and motherhood, preferring to spend their money on luxury goods and travel.
Smart, unconventional, and politically controversial, Shutting Out the Sun is a bold explanation of Japan’s stagnation and its implications for the rest of the world. (show less)
Related Media
Photo Gallery
Reviews (See all 11) Write a reviewfor this
-
The book does provide good insight into the psyche of hikikomori and the general behaviour of the japanese. I can now better understand the (weird) responses I had gotten from some of Japanese friends. This understanding is helpful.
There were parts I agreed with him, and I found his viewpoints as a foreigner looking in refreshingly honest at times. But I found the chapter attributing religion as a factor to Japan's demise weakly substantiated. Such an issue needed stronger arguments than t... (show more)The book does provide good insight into the psyche of hikikomori and the general behaviour of the japanese. I can now better understand the (weird) responses I had gotten from some of Japanese friends. This understanding is helpful.
There were parts I agreed with him, and I found his viewpoints as a foreigner looking in refreshingly honest at times. But I found the chapter attributing religion as a factor to Japan's demise weakly substantiated. Such an issue needed stronger arguments than those he had presented.
As I read towards the end, I was hoping that the author could give a positive take on the outlook of the country, but he chose to conclude the book quite differently from my expectations. Still, this is overall, a good read. (show less)Already read
-
The first part mainly focused on the actual hikikimori, which was what I was expecting to read about. The second part was something I did not expect. It was a critical examination of the Japanese economic, social and political systems. I found it odd, but it did give some interesting context to explain why there was such a problem of hikikimori. The thing I didn't understand was why the book seemed to be so very pro-liberalizing of the economy. The author seemed to tie a lot of the problems o... (show more)
The first part mainly focused on the actual hikikimori, which was what I was expecting to read about. The second part was something I did not expect. It was a critical examination of the Japanese economic, social and political systems. I found it odd, but it did give some interesting context to explain why there was such a problem of hikikimori. The thing I didn't understand was why the book seemed to be so very pro-liberalizing of the economy. The author seemed to tie a lot of the problems of the hikikimori to the fact that the economy was very unliberal, and in his conclusion he stated his belief that Japan had to diversify, with the help of the US. I would've preferred to learn more about hikikimori instead of getting a political science lesson. (show less)
Already read
- See all reviews
Lists
This book has been added to these lists:
More Stuff
About Us
LivingSocial.com is a social discovery and cataloging network that allows people to review and share their favorite movies, books, games, music, restaurants and beer
