I want to understand Japanese current affairs. What should I read?

August 5, 2019 4:02 PM

So there's a chance I'll be moving to Japan next year. I know a little bit about Japanese history up to the present, but not that much. I guess I want to get up to speed! Specifics inside!

I have no pretensions that I'll ever be a citizen of Japan, but the reading I'm interested in doing could thematically be described as the sorts of things one should know to be an engaged, voting member of society, with an emphasis on being informed on political issues. I think politics are very important and try to be pretty informed about wherever I live -- a lot of this generally comes from talking to people, but I find that spending a fair bit of time on the background material helps make those conversations more fruitful, as it's pretty tough for someone to fill in so many blanks!

I'm learning Japanese and would love recommendations in japanese as well if you know of any, even if it'll be a little until I can read them.

I'm open to any and all suggestions, just let me know why :) I basically want to be able to understand contemporary Japanese politics in a Japanese context, so I appreciate anything that you think will help.

I imagine the sorts of books that might be useful: a sort of thorough overview covering ancient to modern (pre-ww2?), a book on the lead up to ww2 and experience during, a book on the postwar period, a book on the property bubble, a book analyzing the current political landscape and its origin...I dunno! Just thinking out loud!

posted by wooh to Society & Culture (7 answers total)

During my study abroad back in 2011 -- in a class with both foreign and Japanese students -- we read through James M. Vardaman's "Japan Today and How It Got This Way" (bilingual book), which I think may hit some of the points you're looking to read. It looks like there's a couple updated versions:

2014 version (IBC Publishing), the cover I'm more familiar with
2017 version (Furigana Japan), which is possibly the same but updated? But I can't find any photos of the pages inside. Much cheaper version on Amazon JP.

Kodansha Publishing also has a bilingual series with multiple topics, but I haven't read any of them personally.
posted by lesser weasel at 5:51 PM on August 5, 2019

These are the things I have found helpful…

Books
* Mason/Ceiger, A History of Japan
* Dunn, Everyday Life in Traditional Japan
* Seidensticker, Tokyo from Edo to Showa
* Gordon, A Modern History of Japan
* Hix, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan
* Andrews, Dissenting Japan

News / Current Affairs Sites
* Japan Times
* Japan Today
* Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan, Number 1 Shimbun (monthly magazine)
* Throw Out Your Books (by Andrews of Dissenting Japan, above)

Podcasts / YouTube
* Deep Dive
* The Meiji at 150 Podcast
* NHK World News bulletins
* History of Japan
* Tokyo on Fire
posted by robcorr at 6:01 PM on August 5, 2019

Anything by David Leheny -- his new book, Empire of Hope, looks great!
posted by mustard seeds at 7:14 PM on August 5, 2019

I can't really help on the political / history book front. I have kept NHK World on the TV as a sort of background distraction for over a decade. So I sorta just absorb the current events, culture, and history via osmosis as presented by "national public TV channel for world consumption".

On the halfway relevant front, Kodansha books are on the whole pretty good. I mostly have a bunch of their Japanese language focused books. And some other off-beat books and materials that I'd recommend for the learning the language part, or at least unraveling some of the finer points that tend to not be in textbooks.

So, Kokansha is usually pretty good, and you can pick up a lot of history / culture / news stuff from NHK World (web or app) if you haven't already.
posted by zengargoyle at 1:22 PM on August 6, 2019

a sort of thorough overview covering ancient to modern (pre-ww2?)
Conrad Totman, Japan Before Perry: A Short History
Donald Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912 (It's not just a biography, it explains the political changes from the end of the Tokugawa era to the Meiji political regime)

a book on the lead up to ww2 and experience during
Eri Hotta, Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy
posted by sukeban at 3:24 AM on August 7, 2019

Not a book but I recommend subscribing to the
NBR Japan forum.
posted by anzen-dai-ichi at 6:23 AM on August 7, 2019

Since my previous post, I read Kapur's Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise After Anpo and it is a great explanation of the origin of the current political system and its factions and faultlines.
posted by robcorr at 8:46 PM on August 7, 2019