Japan Unbound: A Volatile Nation’s Quest for Pride and Purpose

“Not since World War II has Japan faced a crisis like the one before it now. An apparently endless recession has weakened the foundations of the traditional family and severed the bond between Japan’s corporations and employees. Unruly children turn classrooms into battlefields. Ultranationalist pride and xenophobia are celebrated in best-selling comic books and championed by media superstars including the governor of Tokyo. Upheavals across the society have significant ramifications for America. As the Japanese reject their traditions wholesale, they view their half-century-old connection to the United States with mounting skepticism.” Nathan unveils the horrors of the Japanese school system. He goes inside a “career transition service” to witness the novel, nuanced rituals of job-hunting Japanese-style. He takes the pulse of ordinary citizens who are caught up in the country’s many profound social shifts, agitprop pop culture, emerging feminism, environmentalism, teenage consumerism, entrepreneurship and more.