The second half of the twentieth century was a tumultuous period that transformed the way Japanese view the world and act in it. This ideological transformation was driven by and reinforced institutional changes, economic development, political ferment and the dynamic tension between prevailing norms and shifting realities.
While focusing on transformation, this book is sensitive to the incremental and cumulative nature of change and how the past resonates powerfully in the present. Old verities linger and influence the patterns, pace and nature of ongoing changes.

This new edition of the classic Seminar Study considers the metamorphosis of modern Japan in the light of key events of the twentieth century, focusing on the economic miracle, the influence of Japan's troubled past in Asia, the implications of the demographic time-bomb, the Third Transformation and the Lost Decade of the 1990s. With significantly updated chapters on the role of women and national security post-2001 and new chapters on judicial reforms, NPOs and Heisei Japan, this will be the most up-to-date look at contemporary Japan and its history.