Prisoners of Prosperity
George Fisher counts up the costs of Japan's stunning economic success.

Letter from Mitaka
Masaoki Hoshino ponders the identity crisis stalking modern Japan.

The Nail that sticks out
Ethnically homogeneous Japan makes being different a very hard row to hoe. John Charles and Peter Mallett investigate.

Vocabulary of control
A look at keywords in the administrative arsenal.

Technofix-ation
Rick Davies looks behind Japanese pretensions to be global eco-saviours.

Some choice!
Ryuko Kubota on the either/or options for Japanese women.

JAPAN-THE FACTS

Konnichiwa, mate!
Australia faces hard choices about its relationship to yen power. George Fisher reports.

Gone fishing
Cate Brett finds Aotearoa's Maoris unashamed by their Tokyo connections.

Simply - Japan and its Neigbours:
a brief history

Why I quit the company
Tomoyuki Iwashita says thanks but no thanks.

Breaking the mould
Colum Muccio on the uphill battle to build real solidarity between Japan and the Third World.

Not a hair out of place
John Potter profiles a Japanese activist who just won't accept the way schools treat her kids.

Each year, usually in October, everyone at NI gathers in Oxford to decide - amicably of course - which issues should be covered the following year. Dozens of suggestions, many from readers; are mulled over. At the 1989 meeting I thought the time had come for serious intervention from the South Pacific, I suggested we tackle the world's newest superpower, Japan. Here are the fruits of this decision.

Australia has close economic and cultural ties with Asia and a place in its neighbourhood. So it made sense that an Australian should be involved in putting the magazine together. This is, in fact, the first time since 1979 that an Australian has accepted the editorial mantle.

I duly took my seat in the Oxford offices, thawing slowly from the chill of an early English Spring. I had to carefully negotiate English sensitivities about everything from cricket to Prime Ministers who put their arms around the Queen. But finally I jumped through all the editorial hoops and the issue slowly began to take shape.

A wide variety of articles came in from contributors in Japan and beyond, but one thing stayed constant: the realization that Japan's influence on the world is now immense. Not just Westem nations, but the Third World as well must now deal directly or indirectly with Japan on matters as diverse as deforestation or the treatment of workers in industry.

Japan is nothing if not different, its culture surrounded by myths - and they need a critique. This is not an easy task. Japan is full of paradox. The world's largest aid donor, it gives its own aid agencies little support. At home the Govemment promotes conformity, while abroad Japanese companies give unexpected support to cultural plurality.

It would be wrong simply to label Japanese determination as tyrannical, and just as wrong to think of Japanese 'quaintness' as invariably harmless. Walking the narrow path between mistakes like these is not easy, but is it both timely and necessary. The pages that follow are intended to provide a starting point for readers to find their way through this difficult terrain.

Letters
Letter from India
Updates
Reviews: plus M*A*S*H classic
Curiosities
Endpiece: by Robert J. Burrowes
Country profile: Mexico

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