Uncertainty seems the defining feature of Japan as it enters the new millennium.
Domestic and international forces are pushing Japan to consider fundamental changes in its economic structure, political system, and foreign policy. But moving beyond these macro forces, it is the social and cultural transformation that may demonstrate most clearly what kind of Japan is emerging. As social and cultural change are observed and felt most deeply at the micro level of daily life, the Woodrow Wilson Center's Asia Program presented a seminar to focus on important questions that policymakers and scholars often overlook. Investigating the sociocultural context of Japan today provides a more nuanced understanding of Japan's economic problems, political initiatives, and even its foreign and defense policy. Too often, social and cultural factors are relegated to secondary consideration or neglected altogether as businesses, governments, and newsmedia seek ever-quicker analysis.