「空気」を読んでも従わない: 生き苦しさからラクになる 岩波ジュニア新書

Interesting and Easy to Read

This was a really interesting book! I picked it up from the title without knowing anything about it, and I was pleasantly surprised by both the readability (it's aimed at middle schoolers) and the intriguing subject matter.

The author argues that Japanese society is divided into 世間 (one's in-group) and 社会 (wider society), and that Japan is the only country with 世間, whereas other countries only have 社会.

Essentially, 世間 is like an in-group on steroids, composed of one's family, friends, classmates, co-workers, etc., and greatly influences one's actions and strengthens the concept of peer pressure. It's explained in more detail in the book, but it's definitely an interesting way to examine Japanese society. The author contrasts it with British society and American society as well, although he's not accurate on every point, in my opinion.

Overall, if the synopsis interests you, I'd definitely recommend checking this book out. I finished it in under 5 hours (it's 189 pages) and it was very easy to read, both in terms of the Japanese and the writing style. 4 stars.