Books in the Routledge Contemporary Japan Series series

The image of the shinkansen - or 'bullet train' - passing Mount Fuji is one of the renowned images of modern Japan. This title provides an account of the history of the shinkansen, from its planning during the Pacific War, to its launch in 1964 and subsequent development. It analyzes the reasons behind the bullet train's success.

Examines the major challenges and dilemmas in human resource management (HRM ) as Japan's industrial society continues its resurgence in the global arena. This book deals with Japanese HRM from an international perspective, analysing the overall structure of Japanese HRM systems and comparing these with international systems.

How does the conception of modern Japan as a culture of translation affect our understanding of Japanese modernity and its relation to the East/West divide? And how does the example of a distinctly East Asian tradition of translation affect our understanding of translation itself? This book addresses these questions.

Examines and analyses the phenomenon of 'Japan-bashing', from its invention and popularisation in the United States in the late 1970s to the emergence of other national variants, including in Australia and Japan, to its gradual decline in the late 1990s.

Analyses how linguistic diversity in Japan, and indeed recognition of this phenomenon, presents a wide range of sociolinguistic challenges and opportunities in fundamental institutions such as schools, in cultural patterns and in social behaviours and attitudes.

The Japanese family is shifting in fundamental ways, specifically in terms of attitudes towards family and societal relationships, and the role of the family in society. This book explores these changes which include an ageing population, delayed marriages, a fallen birth rate, and a decline in three-generational households and family businesses.