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Active pursuit of pregnancy: Neoliberalism, postfeminism and the politics of reproduction in contemporary Japan

Active pursuit of pregnancy: Neoliberalism, postfeminism and the politics of reproduction in... CONTEMPORARY JAPAN BOOK REVIEW Active pursuit of pregnancy: Neoliberalism, postfeminism and the politics of reproduction in contemporary Japan, by Isabel Fassbender, Leiden, Brill, 2021, 279 pp., $140,00 (hardback; e-book), ISBN 978-90-04-47045-3 (hardback), ISBN 978- 90-04-49955-3 (e-book). How and by whom is individual reproduction governed, controlled and managed in times of demographic decline and in the context of neoliberal ideology? With 1.36 children per woman, Japan has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world (OECD 2019, 76). The decline in the birth rate, which began in the 1970s, became the focus of political interest (and worries) starting in 1990, when the birth rate first dropped below what were already historical lows. Since then, the topic has been of highest priority to the Japanese government and subject to an extremely problematizing public discourse. Against this backdrop and through the lens of the so-called ninkatsu-discourse – the discourse on the “active pursuit of pregnancy” – Isabel Fassbender, assistant professor at Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts (Kyoto), addresses neoliberalism, postfeminism and the politics of reproduction in contemporary Japan. Active Pursuit of Pregnancy is a deeply intelligent, easily accessible and empirically precise and detailed book that adds an innovative perspective to http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Contemporary Japan Taylor & Francis

Active pursuit of pregnancy: Neoliberalism, postfeminism and the politics of reproduction in contemporary Japan

Kottmann, Nora
Contemporary Japan , Volume OnlineFirst: 3 – Aug 13, 2022
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Active pursuit of pregnancy: Neoliberalism, postfeminism and the politics of reproduction in contemporary Japan

Abstract

CONTEMPORARY JAPAN BOOK REVIEW Active pursuit of pregnancy: Neoliberalism, postfeminism and the politics of reproduction in contemporary Japan, by Isabel Fassbender, Leiden, Brill, 2021, 279 pp., $140,00 (hardback; e-book), ISBN 978-90-04-47045-3 (hardback), ISBN 978- 90-04-49955-3 (e-book). How and by whom is individual reproduction governed, controlled and managed in times of demographic decline and in the context of neoliberal ideology? With 1.36 children per woman, Japan has one of the...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2022 Nora Kottmann
ISSN
1869-2737
eISSN
1869-2729
DOI
10.1080/18692729.2022.2111541
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

CONTEMPORARY JAPAN BOOK REVIEW Active pursuit of pregnancy: Neoliberalism, postfeminism and the politics of reproduction in contemporary Japan, by Isabel Fassbender, Leiden, Brill, 2021, 279 pp., $140,00 (hardback; e-book), ISBN 978-90-04-47045-3 (hardback), ISBN 978- 90-04-49955-3 (e-book). How and by whom is individual reproduction governed, controlled and managed in times of demographic decline and in the context of neoliberal ideology? With 1.36 children per woman, Japan has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world (OECD 2019, 76). The decline in the birth rate, which began in the 1970s, became the focus of political interest (and worries) starting in 1990, when the birth rate first dropped below what were already historical lows. Since then, the topic has been of highest priority to the Japanese government and subject to an extremely problematizing public discourse. Against this backdrop and through the lens of the so-called ninkatsu-discourse – the discourse on the “active pursuit of pregnancy” – Isabel Fassbender, assistant professor at Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts (Kyoto), addresses neoliberalism, postfeminism and the politics of reproduction in contemporary Japan. Active Pursuit of Pregnancy is a deeply intelligent, easily accessible and empirically precise and detailed book that adds an innovative perspective to

Journal

Contemporary Japan – Taylor & Francis

Published: Aug 13, 2022

References

  • Online Konkatsu and the Gendered Ideals of Marriage in Contemporary Japan