CONTENTS CHAPTER 1CHARACTERISTICS OF JAPANESE SOCIETY - A HIGH DEGREE OF HOMOGENEITY 1. Not Quite Monoracial1 2. Japanese as the National Language 2 3. Small Differences in Educational Levels3 4. The Majority of the Population Feel They Are Middle Class7 5. The Strengths and Weaknesses of a Homogeneous Society9 CHAPTER 2 SOCIAL CHANGES RESULTING FROM INDUSTRIALIZATION -IN THE MIDST OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 1. The Massive Migration of People from Farming Villages to Cities13 2. From Extended Families to the Nuclear Family15 3. Changes in the Perception of Time and Changes towards a Commodity Economy 16 4. The Relationship between Men and Women and between Different Generations 18 5. The Benefits and Problems Caused by Economic Development 21 CHAPTER 3FAMILY, COMPANY, AREA, NATION - GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS 1. Since the Demise of the le System23 2. The Sense of Belonging to a Company and Its Transformation26 3. The Breakdown and Revival of the Local Community 28 4. Changes in the National Consciousness29 CHAPTER 4 PROSPECTS AND ISSUES TO BE FACED IN THE FUTURE -THE AGING SOCIETY AND INTERNATIONALIZATION 1. Facing an Aging Society33 2. Response to the Borderless Age 37