FAMILY AND SOCIAL POLICY IN JAPAN: Anthropological Approaches

Abstract

Clark reviews FAMLY AND SOCIAL POLICY IN JAPAN: Anthropological Approaches edited by Roger Goodman.

FAMILY AND SOCIAL POLICY IN JAPAN: Anthropological Approaches. Edited by Roger Goodman. Cambridge (England): Cambridge University Press. 2002. xvii, 237pp. (Figures, tables, pictures.) US$60.00, doth. ISBNO-521-81571-1.

Goodman states in the introductory chapter that anthropologists have had a relatively impressive impact on social policy in Japan and can contribute more, particularly with family policy: "The factor that has by far the greatest effect on the development of contemporary social policy in Japan is the changing demography" [declining fertility rate and aging society] (p. 12), those policies are the basis of this book's organization.

The essay by Victoria Lyon Bestor examines the cultural biography of "how the concept of civil society has developed layers of meaning and association, both internal and external to Japanese society" (p. 30) as the term and concept have migrated through diverse spheres during the last decades. Throughout her account she shows the ways in which anthropology asks somewhat different questions about what is currently known and points out areas that critically need anthropological examination. Vera Mackie in the final essay examines citizenship, or, rather, by contrasting who isn't the archetypal Japanese "citizen," Mackie forces us to rethink the factors related to the embodiment of citizenship (trans/gender, disability, reproduction, genetics, etc.) and how "impartial" policies impact different subgroups of Japanese citizens.

While those two essays address family and social policy to some extent, the remaining chapters address more direct issues. Glenda S. Roberts discusses the declining fertility rates and reviews the sometimes very innovative policies put in place by government to overcome the "problem." Her summation of the policies and lack of resolution is revealing: "the foremost problem is that [the policy] lacks the social consensus necessary..." (p. 87). Carolyn S. Stevens and Setsuko Lee look at maternal and child health care for foreigners. Some foreign women are reproducing at a higher rate than is typical for Japan. Foreign women, many married to native Japanese, and their children pose questions of legal and social identity and pose challenges to a policy that largely assumes a homogenous population. In addition to an examination of policies and statistics, the authors bring their own experiences as foreign health care recipients to their analysis and conclusions about policy and its effects. Eyal Ben-An builds on existing literature about pre-school by examining its paperwork and how the documentation institutionalizes cultural forms into normative entities, how routines of daily life produce and reproduce beliefs, and the means that a state possesses to exert control. Roger Goodman examines policies and media reports regarding the recent explosion of reported child abuse and provides insights about the reasons. While concluding that abuse is probably not so different than a decade ago, he argues that among the factors causing the reported increase are shifting perceptions of what constitutes child abuse and a more general societal questioning of institutions, the result of the long economic downturn. Noting the increasing separation of generations as a consequence of smaller families and working requirements, Leng Leng Thang reviews policies that have been implemented in an attempt to promote intergenerational interaction. These policies have originated at all levels, from local to national. Although the policies share an emphasis on the past, today's intergenerational relationships are perceived and enacted differently than previously, even while symbolizing a "traditional" Japanese-style welfare model. Through a review of 130 years of state policies and peoples' practices regarding death, Yohko Tsuji shows how the state and citizens are in a dynamic relationship. Policies are implemented and changed; people submit and oppose; they exist in an ever-changing symbiotic relationship.

From birth to death, from civil society to citizenship, these essays provide fascinating insights into Japanese life, culture and social policy. The claim that anthropologists can make useful contributions to understanding the relationship of state policies and citizens' lives is well demonstrated.