Search

After the 1970s the new urban poverty (NUP) ballooned in Japan and the US, and it evoked policy responses that produced new, rescaled regulatory spaces to contain the poor on the fringe of social rights and the capital circuit. The paper illuminates this process through the comparison of Japanese and US trajectories, both of which, evolving through economic crises, have established unique pathways. The author first constructs a theoretical framework based on Marxian, Polanyian, and Lefebvrean traditions. Then, he compares national-scale poverty regulation in Japan and the US from the 1950s through the 2000s. Lastly, the author examines how the countries' regulation of a major aspect of the NUP--homelessness--intensified multiscalar reseating processes. The paper concludes that regulation of the NUP represents a significant instance of uneven spatial development of capitalism mediated by the state that requires synthetic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how multiple roles affect the mental health of the elderly in Japan and the United States, two countries with vastly different cultures. Hypotheses were drawn based on the cultural differences in role experiences, and these hypotheses are tested by analyzing nationally representative samples of the elderly in these countries. The results show that Americans are more likely to be involved in roles related to family, work, and community, while the Japanese are more likely to be involved in only those roles related to family and work. Multiple roles are also found to be less beneficialfor the mental health of Japanese elderly compared to American counterparts. National differences in the effects of individual roles and role configurations on mental health are also documented. Overall, the results show the importance of broad cultural contexts for understanding the relationship between roles and mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how cultural values affect the meaning and experiences of daughter (or daughter-in-law) caregivers of elderly persons with dementia by comparing caregivers in the United States and Japan. Nine American and seven Japanese caregivers were interviewed twice at 6-month intervals. Interviews were audiotaped and analyzed using constant-comparative techniques. Data suggest that moral obligation to care and intense loss are two universal themes of caregiving. However the experiences and perceptions of the role of caregivers from these two cultures differed in select ways that were captured within three categories: reasons for caregiving, caregiving as a career, and caregiving as a life phase or detour. Findings suggest that American caregivers may need greater anticipatory socialization regarding the caregiving role, whereas Japanese caregivers may benefit from assistance in accepting needed services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the book "Capitalist Property and Financial Power: A Comparative Study of Britain, the United States and Japan," by John Scott.