Japanese Youth in the Conservative Elite Society: Essays on the Liberal Young Super-Achievers - Hardcover

"This volume is likely to stimulate discussion... [it]takes us through shifting definitions and manifestations of "youth", historically and more closely through the post-war years, against the backgrounds of social, political, and economic transformations of the Japanese society itself." -Fumiko Ikawa-Smith, Professor Emerita, McGill University. "The contribution of this work to scholarship is clear... the work has refined the concept of elitism by clarifying the grey areas of young future elites. It has also articulated conservatism in different context and different policy issues. All in all, this work is ambitious and unique by offering important interpretations to key concepts and theory building." -Professor Shin-ichi Nishikawa, School of Political Science & Economics, Meiji University, Tokyo.

This is a collection of scholarly writings with extensive editorial comments on Japanese youth. The editors find it an irony that globalization and cultural infusion/diffusion has enabled Japanese conservative elites to bank on a very small minority of liberal young super-achievers to be creative and innovative to revitalize and maintain their conservative hegemony in the society. A declining national economy, a tight youth labor market and educational meritocracy have widened socioeconomic differences among Japanese youth. A majority of youth masses are either poorly motivated academically or performing poorly. Postindustrial and postmodern syndromes have rendered many Japanese youth materialistic, socially apathetic and conservative. Conservative ruling elites in both public and private sectors have been cultivating highly motivated, innovative and reform-oriented young achievers in such a way that the future elites would manage and guide large conservative youth masses.