Over the last thirty years, two social developments have occurred that have led to a need for change in language policy in Japan. One is the increase in the num

The relationship between language and citizenship in Japan has traditionally been regarded as a fixed tripartite: ‘Japanese citizenship’ means ‘Japanese e

Language education is a highly contested arena within any nation and one that arouses an array of sentiments and identity conflicts. What languages, or what var

First Published in 1995. The nature of the Japanese script has been a matter of contention since the early Meiji period. It was not until 1902, however, that th

Language and Society in Japan deals with issues important to an understanding of language in Japan today, among them multilingualism, language and nationalism,