Mari Osawa's Books

Social Security in Contemporary Japan

By: Mari Osawa

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Social Security in Contemporary Japan

By: Mari Osawa

The present study analyzes the livelihood security system of contemporary Japan in international comparison from a historical and gender perspective. It posits ‘livelihood security systems’ rather than ‘welfare states’ or ‘welfare regimes’ as its object of analysis to enter the role of non-governmental institutions and of governmental policies reaching beyond income transfers into vision. Based on rich statistical materials, the evolution of Japan’s livelihood security system in recent decades is traced to reveal a rigid male breadwinner orientation increasingly out of step with social realities. The need for remedying the gender bias built into Japan’s social insurance schemes has been politically highlighted since the late 1990s, but legislative action has continued to be deferred. The author argues that at present the livelihood security system of Japan is not only dysfunctional, but actually functioning in reverse, in a sense of furthering social exclusion. The study concludes with suggestions for a possible reconstruction of Japan’s social security system, arguing for an increased role of the ‘third sector’ or ‘social economy’ in livelihood security and care provision. This book will appeal to scholars and students with an interest in social policy, welfare economics and gender studies, as well as Japanese politics and society.

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Page Count

238

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1136701699

ISBN 13

9781136701696

In Pursuit of Composite Beauty

Yanagi Soetsu, His Aesthetics and Aspiration for Peace

By: Mari Nakami

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In Pursuit of Composite Beauty

Yanagi Soetsu, His Aesthetics and Aspiration for Peace

By: Mari Nakami

In Pursuit of Composite Beauty is a study of the life and thought of Yanagi Soetsu (1889-1961), known primarily as the founder of Japan's mingei (folk crafts) movement. Mr. Yanagi was a thinker who believed that world peace could not be achieved by 'painting the world in one single color.' Before and during World War II, when Japan was invading Asia and enforcing its cultural assimilation policy in its colonies and occupied territories, Yanagi aspired to realize a world in which multiple races and cultures could coexist. His pacifist thought rests on the idea of 'composite beauty, ' an ideal of creating a world in which heterogeneous entities can accept their differences and learn from each other. Tracing Yanagi's intellectual development, this insightful and comprehensive book presents a positive reevaluation of the contemporary significance of his thought from the viewpoint of international relations, shedding light on the ways to achieve interdependence and mutual respect

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Page Count

464

Publisher

Apollo Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1920901345

ISBN 13

9781920901349

Welfare through Work

Conservative Ideas, Partisan Dynamics, and Social Protection in Japan

By: Mari Miura

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Welfare through Work

Conservative Ideas, Partisan Dynamics, and Social Protection in Japan

By: Mari Miura

High economic growth and relatively equitable distribution were among the most conspicuous characteristics of the postwar Japanese political economy. The lure of the Japanese model, however, has faded since the 1990s. Growth is in short supply and equality a thing of the past. In Welfare through Work, Mari Miura looks in depth at Japan's social protection system as a factor in the contemporary malaise of the Japanese political economy. The Japanese social protection system should be understood as a system of "welfare through work," Miura suggests, because employment protection has functionally substituted for income maintenance. A gendered dual system in the labor market allowed a high degree of labor market flexibility, which enabled Japan to achieve high employment rates as well as strong legal protections for regular workers. In recent years, conservatives gradually replaced the productivism and cooperatism that had resulted from earlier party politics with neoliberalism, which, in turn, hampered the effectiveness of the welfare through work system. In Miura's view, the dynamics of partisan competition fostered ideational renewal, just as the political visions and ideologies of the governing party strongly affected the design of the social protection system. In the scenario Miura describes, the partisan dynamics since the 1990s resulted in the policy change that further undermined the social protection system, and the ensuing disruption has been felt throughout Japan.

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Page Count

225

Publisher

Cornell University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0801465923

ISBN 13

9780801465925

Grassroots Pacifism in Post-War Japan

The Rebirth of a Nation

By: Mari Yamamoto

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Grassroots Pacifism in Post-War Japan

The Rebirth of a Nation

By: Mari Yamamoto

Grassroots Pacifism in Post-War Japan presents new material on grassroots peace activism and pacifism in two major groups active in the post-World War 2 peace movement - workers and housewives. Yamamoto contends that the peace movement, which was organised in tandem with other activities to promote democratic, economic and humanitarian issues, served as a popular lever which helped to eliminate feudal remnants that lingered in Japanese society and individual attitudes after the war, thereby modernizing the political process and the outlook of the ordinary Japanese. Including extensive primary material such as letters, essays, memoirs and interviews, specialists in Japanese history, peace studies and women's studies will appreciate the richness of the text supporting Yamamoto's narrative of how workers' and women's political awareness developed under the influence of organizational and ideological interests and contemporary events.

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Page Count

299

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1134308175

ISBN 13

9781134308170

Book's by Mari Osawa

Social Security in Contemporary Japan

Social Security in Contemporary Japan

In Pursuit of Composite Beauty

In Pursuit of Composite Beauty

Welfare through Work

Welfare through Work

Grassroots Pacifism in Post-War Japan

Grassroots Pacifism in Post-War Japan

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