<P>Over the past thirty years, whilst Japan has produced a diverse set of youth cultures which have had a major impact on popular culture across the globe, it has also developed a succession of youth problems which have led to major concerns within the country itself. Drawing on detailed empirical fieldwork, the authors of this volume set these issues in a clearly articulated 'social constructionist' framework, and put forth a sociology of Japanese youth problems which argues that there is a certain predictability about the way in which these problems are discovered, defined and dealt with.</P>
<P>The chapters include case studies covering issues such as:</P>
<P>Returnee children (kikokushijo)</P>
<P>Compensated dating (enjo kōsai)</P>
<P>Corporal punishment (taibatsu)</P>
<P>Bullying (ijime)</P>
<P>Child abuse (jidō gyakutai)</P>
<P>The withdrawn youth (hikikomori) and</P>
<P>NEETs (not in education, employment or training)</P>
<P>By examining these various social problems collectively, A Sociology of Japanese Youth explains why particular youth problems appeared when they did and what lessons they can provide for the study of youth problems in other societies.</P>
<P>This book will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Japanese society and culture, the sociology of Japan, Japanese anthropology and the comparative sociology of youth studies.</P>