Nature Watch: Writings from Japan
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
This book is an exploration of the notion of "environment" in Japan. It is arranged in two parts: a collection of 21 essays on various aspects of nature in Japan, and a cross-cultural survey measuring popular attitudes toward such concepts as environmental problems, human responsibility, environmental policy, and "naturalness".
The essays, Part I, are grouped into four broad categories: Japan's natural environment as a sociological phenomenon, Japan's natural environment as a cultural phenomenon, Japan in the international environmental arena, and environmental ethics. These four categories encompass the multitude of meanings which the words "natural environment" can have.
Part II is the research report for a survey which I administered between 1995 and 1997 at several locations around Japan and the United States. The purpose of this study was to assess common attitudes about nature, environmental problems and environmentalism within the two countries, and to discern any existing differences and similarities between the two. The results are analyzed both cross-culturally and cross-generationally. Respondents between the ages of 18 and 22, all college students, are grouped separately from those aged 23 and over in order to determine how younger people's thinking about the environment differs from that of older generations, as well as how they compare to their counterparts overseas.
In keeping with the four groups of essays in Part I, this survey touches on how people comprehend the natural environment as a component of human society, as cultural heritage, as a political issue, and finally on its place in ethical thought. Analysis of the results will, in part, be based on the conclusions of the essays as well. In other words, the essays provide a background and knowledge base from which to examine the results, and allow us to make some predictions about how cultural, social and historical forces might influence a society's position on specific issues. To this extent, Part I provides a broad theoretical foundation for understanding the phenomenon of Japan's natural environment, and Part II tests this understanding with empirical statistics.
About the Author
Puck Brecher is from Andover, Massachusetts, USA. After receiving his M.A. in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan in 1992, he moved to Japan and took a teaching position at Nagano University. Now an Assistant Professor in the Department of General Education, his research covers the phenomena of nature, environment and ethics in Japan. He is expecting to complete his new book, Shizen!: The Phenomenon of Japan's Natural Environment, in 1999.
Nature Watch: Writings from Japan,W. Puck Brecher,Trafford Publishing,155212228X,Environmental Conservation & Protection - General,Nature,Nature/Ecology,Environmentalist thought & ideology
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