Comparing social policies: Exploring new perspectives in Britain and Japan

Description

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, both Britain and Japan are facing similar issues caused by globalisation, slower economic growth, and a rapidly ageing population. Social policy in the two societies, which has developed differently due to the differences in their national resources, socio-economic systems, cultural values and political agendas, is at an interesting turning point. Comparing social policies: examines topical issues with up-to-date information; compares and contrasts selected policy areas between the two societies; presents original material written by leading scholars in each country. This original book will be of great interest to academics and students, as well as policy makers and practitioners internationally, who are interested in various fields of social policy in Britain and Japan.

Misa Izuhara is Research Associate in the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol, UK.

"... an accessible, student-friendly addition to the comparative social policy resource base, one which, it is to be hoped, will help further the development of East-West comparative social policy teaching within Britain." Social Policy & Administration "I warmly recommend this concise, lucid and authoritative essay collection to students of comparative social policy. It doesn't try to do everything, but what it sets out to do, it does very well." Robert Pinker in Journal of Social Policy "This well-conceived and excellently executed project has resulted in exactly what one would hope from any book on comparative social policy. It alllows academics and practitioners in one country to look at and evaluate their own practices in the light of how similar problems are dealt with in another country and, as the case studies included demonstrate, there is still a great deal that the UK and Japan can learn from each other." Roger Goodman, Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, University of Oxford