Dear Forum Members:

We are very pleased to announce the publication of the Routledge Handbook of Japanese Culture and Society, edited by Victoria Lyon Bestor and Theodore C. Bestor, with Akiko Yamagata.

The book is intended to be a general reference book for non-specialists, college students, and others seeking succinct overviews of various realms of contemporary Japan, in line with the general format of Routledge Handbooks for other parts of the world.

The book is currently available in hardback (see attached flyer), but Routledge plans to publish an electronic version shortly, and may at that time make individual chapters available on-line for classroom use.

Chapters (and contributors) include:

Introduction -- Victoria Lyon Bestor, Theodore C.
Bestor, and Akiko Yamagata
Showa-Era Japan and Beyond: From Imperial Japan to Japan Inc. -- Peter Duus
Four Cultures of Japanese Politics -- David Leheny
The Cultures and Politics of Language in Japan Today -- Nanette Gottleib
Japanese Education and Education Reform -- Roger Goodman
Religion in Contemporary Japanese Lives -- Mark R. Mullins
Law and Society in Japan -- Lawrence Repeta
The Urbanization of the Japanese Landscape -- Paul Waley
Social Class and Social Identity in Postwar Japan -- David Slater
The Politics of Gender in Japan -- Robin M. LeBlanc
Change and Diversity in the Japanese Family -- Merry White
Japan's Queer Cultures -- Mark McClelland
Race, Ethnicity, and Minorities in Japan -- Richard Siddle
Life on the Margins in Japan: Homeless, Migrant
Day Laborers, and People with Disabilities -- Carolyn S. Stevens
Aging and Social Welfare in Japan -- Leng Leng Thang
The New Prominence of the Civil Sector in Japan -- Akihiro Ogawa
Contemporary Architecture in Japan -- William H. Coaldrake
Japanese Film and Television -- Aaron Gerow
Manga and Anime: Entertainment, Big Business, and Art in Japan -- Susan Napier
Popular Music in Japan -- Ian Condry
The Sportscape of Contemporary Japan -- William Kelly
Cultural Flows: Japan and East Asia -- Koichi Iwabuchi
Cuisine and Identity in Contemporary Japan -- Theodore C. Bestor

We, the editors, express our great appreciation for the hard work that our contributors have put into this volume, and hope that their contributions will be welcomed by a wide audience.

With best wishes

Vickey, Ted, and Akiko