Individualism in Japanese Life (Lecture by Prof. John LIE)

Zoom Webinar (Register here)

We have been repeatedly told that Japan is a “collectivist” or “group-oriented” society, in contradistinction to the United States and other Western countries, which are said to be “individualist.” The argument strikes me as wrong, at best. After briefly rebutting the received view, I trace the genealogy of the mistaken idea and explain its cogency.

Lecturer
John LIE (Professor of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley)

Commentator
NAGAYOSHI Kikuko (Associate Professor, Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo)

Moderator
Anna WOZNY (Postdoctoral Fellow, Tokyo College)