Critics' Opinion:
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Published Sep 2006
192 pages
Genre: History, Current Affairs and Religion
Publication Information
The world's second wealthiest country, Japan once seemed poised to overtake America. But its failure to recover from the economic collapse of the early 1990s was unprecedented, and today it confronts an array of disturbing social trends. Japan has the highest suicide rate and lowest birthrate of all industrialized countries and a rising incidence of untreated cases of depression. Even more troubling are the more than one million young men who shut themselves in their rooms, withdrawing from society, and the growing numbers of "parasite singles," the name given to single women who refuse to leave home, marry, or bear children.
Smart, unconventional, and politically controversial, Shutting Out The Sun is a bold explanation of Japan's stagnation and its implications for the rest of the world.
"His inclusion of both small details and the big picture makes the book as intimate as it is revealing." - PW.
"Starred review. Nuanced reporting on a tradition-bound society struggling to find its way in the 21st century." - Kirkus.
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