Dictionary of Modern Politics of Japan

In a wide‐ranging periodical such as this, it is inevitable that titles will occasionally have to be reviewed by contributors without specialist subject knowledge. Let it be confessed, therefore, that this reviewer’s experience of Japan is confined to attending several performances of The Mikado, an expression which, quite correctly, does not appear in this book as it dates from the Shogunate, whereas the coverage of this Dictionary begins in 1945.

In contrast to your reviewer’s relative ignorance, the author, who has taught Japanese politics for nearly 40 years, is so well acquainted with the country that he can even...