"This volume forms a unique and remarkable enterprise in the context of contemporary Japanese literature, social studies and the nature of Japanese society. It comprises 70 essays by private individuals living in Japan today (members of a writing club) who have chosen a subject to write about with a view to projecting a genuine insight into the events, issues and aspirations that make them who they are--from life in a condominium and foreign travel to dealing with in-laws, death, early retirement and life after children. ... The book's objective is to make Japan more accessible to the non-specialist general reader, while providing a counter-balance to Western media images and reporting, as well as conventional academic theory and observation about modern Japanese society."--Jacket.