Diversity and Inclusion in Japanese Television Drama: Disability, Gender, Race, and Sexuality (New Studies in Modern Japan)

How do contemporary Japanese television dramas grapple with questions of diversity and inclusion-and what do their stories reveal about the society that produces them?To address these questions, Yasue Kuwahara offers the first comprehensive analysis on how Japanese dramas have portrayed gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and disability, revealing the cultural logics that shape who is included, how, and to what extent. Drawing on close textual readings, the book uncovers the subtle and overt ways that TV dramas negotiate Japan’s evolving social landscape.It illuminates how deeply rooted norms-especially the pressures of seken (an inescapable, invisible network of social relationships and unwritten rules) and futsu (acceptance through majority consensus)-continue to regulate social boundaries, often reinforcing conformity even when narratives appear progressive. This book also highlights the strategic use of kazoku (family) and the ubiquitous “family meal” as comforting tropes