Japan : : Why It Works, Why It Doesn't / / ed. by Shigeyuki Abe, Kazuhiro Igawa, Shyam Sunder, James Mak.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Asian Studies Archive (pre 2000) eBook Package
• MitwirkendeR: Abe, Shigeyuki,; Fukui, Yoshitaka,; Higa, Teruyuki,; Hondai, Susumu,; Horioka, Charles Yuji,; Igawa, Kazuhiro,; Jinushi, Toshiki,; Kawaura, Akihiko,; Kikuchi, Gary S.,; Kimura, Yoko,; LaCroix, Sumner J.,; Loke, Matthew,; Lupardus, Karen,; Mak, James,; Mason, Andrew,; McCleery, Robert K.,; Mitani, Naoki,; Nishijima, Shoji,; Nishiyama, Kazuo,; Ogawa, Naohiro,; Oshima, Harry T.,; Parry, Robert,; Sunder, Shyam,
• HerausgeberIn: Abe, Shigeyuki,; Igawa, Kazuhiro,; Mak, James,; Sunder, Shyam,
• Place / Publishing House: Honolulu : : University of Hawaii Press, , [1997]; ©1997
• Year of Publication: 1997
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (240 p.)

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.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Living -- 1. Do the Japanese Live Better Than Americans? -- 2. Why Avoid the Altar? -- 3. Why Go to School after School? -- 4. Why So Many Gifts? -- 5. Why Is Pachinko So Popular? -- 6. Why Are the Japanese Obsessed with Luxury Brand-Name Goods? -- 7. Why Are There So Many Small Shops in Japan? -- 8. How Do the Japanese and Americans Spend Their Money? -- 9. How Can the Japanese Manage without Personal Checking Accounts? -- 10. What Are Most Japanese Doing on Tax Day? -- Work -- 11. Why Do Students Take It Easy at the University? -- 12. Why Do Japanese Companies Hire Only Spring Graduates? -- 13. Why Don’t Workers Claim All Their Overtime? -- 14. How Do Workers Get Paid? -- 15. Do the Japanese Work till They Drop? -- 16. Why Do the Japanese Save So Much? -- System -- 17. Why Is Japan a Paradise of Vending Machines? -- 18. Why Do Doctors Prescribe So Many Pills? -- 19. Why Do Bank Automatic Teller Machines Shut Down at 7 P.M.? -- 20. Why Is Rice So Expensive in Japan? -- 21. How Can the Japanese Spend So Little on Health Care? -- 22. How Does Japan’s Largest Bank Work? -- 23. Why Do So Many Japanese Contribute to Public TV? -- 24. Why Are So Few People on Welfare in Japan? -- 25. What Are Keiretsu and Why Do Some U.S. Companies Dislike Them? -- 26. Is Japan an Egalitarian Society? -- Glossary of Japanese Terms -- Sources for Statistical Data on Japan -- About the Contributors -- Index