Bending Adversity

The second edition of the definitive book on how modern Japan works, now fully updated up to include the new ‘Reiwa’ Era and the year of the Olympics’A superb book that, better than any other I have read, manages to get the reader inside the skin of Japanese society … astutely observed … a great read brimming with insights’ Japan TimesDespite years of stagnation, Japan remains one of the world’s largest economies and a country which exerts a remarkable cultural fascination. David Pilling’s new book is an entertaining, deeply knowledgeable and surprising analysis of a group of islands which have shown great resilience, both in the face of financial distress and when confronted with the overwhelming disaster of the 2011 earthquake and resulting tsunami. Bending Adversity is a superb work of reportage and the essential book even for those who already feel they know the country well.