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RR 2003/163
Japan Encyclopedia
Louis Frederic
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Cambridge, MA and London
2002
xx + 1,102 pp.
L41.50
ISBN: 0-674-00770-0
First published in 1996 as Le Japon:
Dictionnaire et Civilisation. Translated
from the French by Kathe Roth
Keyword Japan
Review DOI 10.1108/09504120310466982
Even in the twenty-first century, Japan and the way of life of its 127 million population remain a mystery to many people drawn from Western cultures. This lack of understanding is in stark contrast with the profound knowledge that the Japanese have of every aspect and detail of Western societies. European and American capital cities have become normal places for Japanese scholars and tourists to visit, whereas few European language conversations are to be overheard in Tokyo, and it is noticeable that the net migration rate for Japan is zero, compared with 1.06 per 1,000 head of population for the...