Japan, Sport and Society

Loughborough University, UK Shimane University, Japan De Montfort University, UK.

• Introduction: Japan, sport and society: Tradition and change in a globalizing world. Making Sport and Modern Japanese Society: 1. Innovation in martial arts: Forms of sport and modern Japanese society 2. The emergence and development of Japanese school sport 3. The Japanese baseball spirit and professional ideology Social Reconstruction, Reproduction and SportChapter FourEconomic development and the value aspect of sportChapter FiveSustainable sport and environmental problems: The E-boat movement as a social experiment in green sportChapter SixVoluntary associations formed through sport spectatorship: A case study of pro baseball fan clubChapter SevenPlayfulness and gender in Japanese modern societyModernization, Globalization and Sport: A Critical ExaminationChapter EightFIFA World Cup 2002: The Japanese football phenomena in cultural contextsChapter NinePhysical Cognition in Sport: Something of wisdom buried in modernizationChapter TenGlobalization: The changing field of Japanese sport

"Maguire (sociology of sport, Loughborough U., UK) and Nakayama (sport sociology, Shimane U., Japan) bring together ten research articles by Japanese scholars on issues of sport, culture, and Japanese society. The first group of articles discusses innovation in martial arts, the emergence and development of Japanese school sport, and the development of the Japanese baseball professional ideology. Sociological processes of social reconstruction and reproduction is the major theme of papers on sustainable sport and environmental problems, role of voluntary associations in the formation of sport spectatorship, and issues of gender and sport. The final group looks at Japanese sport in the context of modernization and globalization." --Reference & Research Book News