Nippon Nyumon: An Idea Book for Teaching Japanese Economic Topics

Jeff Tripodi
Social Studies teacher, grades 9-12
Blackhawk High School
“Nippon Nyumon” is, as a literal translation of its title would suggest, a broad primer on the peculiarities of the Japanese economy. Published in 1999 by the National Council for the Social Studies, the curriculum materials feature glaringly outdated economic data, but a useful framework for introducing and exploring Japan’s economy – and, by extension, its people.
What this book is not:

It is not current. Nothing destroys an educator’s credibility quite like the presentation of outdated, out of touch materials.
As a result, it is unusable as-is. Repeated references to “Japan since…” and “A growing rejection of…” aren’t just outdated; they are now inaccurate. It’s still quoting Alvin Toffler’s 1968 treatise “Future Shock”, and its tour of Japanese businesses on the nascent Web is almost charming in its anachronism. The bubble economy presented as a current state of affairs is economic history.
It is not an exercise in comparative economics. At best, it offers a snapshot of late-1990s Japanese economic culture.
What the book is:
An idea book filled with excellent topics of inquiry. Each topic is split into five segments:

Introduction. An overview of the topic with a rationale for its inclusion.
Primary source materials. A well-rounded mix of newspapers, scholarly journals, tables of data, URLs (often dead), charts and graphs.
Pedagogical examples for implementation. These are uncommonly meaningful and useful, and avoid many of the traps other curriculum guidebooks fall into. Examples are time- and grade-appropriate. Source material is rigorous, but accessible to a high-school audience. Perhaps most importantly, they are interesting.
Bibliography and supplementary resources. Section is split between print and digital sources. Like a lot of late-1990s references, it isn’t quite sure how to handle websites; most refer to specific pages that no longer exist, and without annotations they are largely dead ends.
End notes.
An effective tool to view Japanese society through an economic lens. The cultural components are still very relevant and timely. Forays into population density and food production are compelling and comprehensive, and the workings of Japan’s education system are laid out in simple yet illuminating fashion. Cram schools (juku), obsessed mothers (kyoiku-mama), and the yakuza populate these useful pedagogical examples.
As a contemporary, relevant resource, the book scores a 1/5. But as a launching point for inquiry into enduring Japanese culture and socioeconomics, it’s a 4/5.