Karel van Wolferen
Encyclopedia
Karel van Wolferen is a Dutch
journalist
, writer and professor
, who is particularly recognised for his knowledge of Japan
ese politics
, economics
, history
and culture
.
After finishing high school, he traveled to the Middle East
, India
and South East Asia, and from 1962 until the 1990s he was based in Japan
. In 1972 he became a correspondent for the Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad
, reporting from many countries in Asia. In 1987 he received the highest Dutch award for journalism for his articles on the People Power Revolution of 1986 in the Philippines (an uprising which forced President Ferdinand Marcos
to flee the country).
His book writing career began in 1969, when he was commissioned to do a study on student radicalism
in the West. The result of this was published as Student Revolutionaries of the Sixties, reviewed by the International Herald Tribune as "the best introduction to the subject".
After a career as foreign correspondent, he wrote The Enigma of Japanese Power
, first published in 1989, which has sold well over 650,000 copies in 11 languages. In Japan this book received enormous attention. The Asahi Shimbun
called it “an elaborate and persuasive study, sharply and careful analyzing a multitude of aspects of Japanese reality”. while The Financial Times wrote, “This most thoughtful of books works because it is serious, well informed and, above all, objective”.
Since writing Enigma, van Wolferen has authored more than 15 books published in Japanese that explore details of political, economic, social and historical aspects of the Japanese power system.
His books have sold more than one million copies altogether.
His analyses and policy suggestions have influenced Japanese critics and policymakers, including the reformist politicians who emerged after the political upheaval of 1993. Some of these same politicians now form the core of the party that defeated the LDP in August 2009.
He was made University Professor of Comparative Political and Economic Institutions at the University of Amsterdam in 1997. Since then he has continued to write books and articles for Japanese readers. He divides his time between East Asia and The Netherlands.
He is currently writing about the effect of American economic and foreign policies on the world.
- ‘ Student Revolutionaries of the Sixties’ – Oost-West Publishing
- ‘The Enigma of Japanese Power’ - 1989, Alfred A. Knopf
- ‘Nihon wo dosuru ? – Akirameru mae ni, 144 no gimon’ -1991, Hayakawa
- ‘Min wa orokani tamote – Nihon kanryo, dai shimbun no honne’ – 1994, Shogakkan
- ‘Ningen wo koufuku ni shinai Nihon to iu shisutemu’ – 1994, Mainichi (Paperback 2000 Shinchosha)
- ‘Nihon no chishikijin he’ - 1995, Madosha
- ‘Shihaisha wo shihai seyo – senkyomae senkyogo’ - 1996, Mainichi
- ‘Naze Nihonjin wa Nihon wo aisenai no ka – kono fukou na kuni no yukikata’ – 1998, Mainichi
- ‘Okore! Nihon no chuuryuu dankyu’ – 1999, Mainichi
- Amerika wo koufuku ni shi sekai wo fukou ni suru fujouri na shikumi’ – 2000, Diamond
- ‘Nihon to iu kuni wo anata no mono ni suru tame ni’ – 2001, Kadokawa
- ‘Kaiketsu Wolferen no “Nihon waido gekijou”’ – 2001, President
- ‘Wolferen Kyoju no yasashii Nihon keizai’ – 2002, Diamond
- ‘Bush sekai wo kowashita kenryoku no shinjitsu’ - 2003, PHP
- ‘De Ondergang van een Wereldorde (vertaald) – 2003, Contact - Amsterdam, ISBN 90-254-1880-5
- ‘Amerika kara no “dokuritsu” ga Nihonjin wo koufuku ni suru’ – 2003, Jitsugyo no nihonsha
- ‘Sekai no asu ga kessuru hi – beidaitouryousengo no sekai wa dou naru no ka?’ – 2004, Kadokawa
- ‘Sekai ga Nihon wo mitomeru hi – mou Amerika no “zokkoku” de iru hitsuyou wa nai’ – 2005, PHP
- ‘Een Keerpunt in de Vaderlandse Geschiedenis (samen met Jan Sampiemon) – 2005, J.M. Meulenhoff, ISBN 90-290-7698-4
-‘ Mou hitotsu no sakoku – nihon wa sekai de koritsu suru’ – 2006, Kadokawa.
- ‘Nihonjin dake ga shiranai Amerika “sekaishihai” no owari’ - 2007, Shokumashoten
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, writer and professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, who is particularly recognised for his knowledge of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese politics
Politics of Japan
The politics of Japan is conducted in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, where Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government. Japanese politics uses a multi-party system. Executive power exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the Diet, with...
, economics
Economy of Japan
The economy of Japan, a free market economy, is the third largest in the world after the United States and the People's Republic of China, and ahead of Germany at 4th...
, history
History of Japan
The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...
and culture
Culture of Japan
The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...
.
After finishing high school, he traveled to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and South East Asia, and from 1962 until the 1990s he was based in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In 1972 he became a correspondent for the Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad
NRC Handelsblad
NRC Handelsblad, often abbreviated to NRC, is a daily evening newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. The newspaper was created on October 1, 1970, from merger of the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant and Algemeen Handelsblad . In 2006 a morning newspaper, nrc•next, was launched...
, reporting from many countries in Asia. In 1987 he received the highest Dutch award for journalism for his articles on the People Power Revolution of 1986 in the Philippines (an uprising which forced President Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
to flee the country).
His book writing career began in 1969, when he was commissioned to do a study on student radicalism
Student activism
Student activism is work done by students to effect political, environmental, economic, or social change. It has often focused on making changes in schools, such as increasing student influence over curriculum or improving educational funding...
in the West. The result of this was published as Student Revolutionaries of the Sixties, reviewed by the International Herald Tribune as "the best introduction to the subject".
After a career as foreign correspondent, he wrote The Enigma of Japanese Power
The Enigma of Japanese Power
The Enigma of Japanese Power is a political text book by Karel van Wolferen. The book was written in 1989, and is a critical account of the business, social, and political structure of Japan. The title of the book addresses the mystery and awe that many Americans and Europeans had toward the...
, first published in 1989, which has sold well over 650,000 copies in 11 languages. In Japan this book received enormous attention. The Asahi Shimbun
Asahi Shimbun
The is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun...
called it “an elaborate and persuasive study, sharply and careful analyzing a multitude of aspects of Japanese reality”. while The Financial Times wrote, “This most thoughtful of books works because it is serious, well informed and, above all, objective”.
Since writing Enigma, van Wolferen has authored more than 15 books published in Japanese that explore details of political, economic, social and historical aspects of the Japanese power system.
His books have sold more than one million copies altogether.
His analyses and policy suggestions have influenced Japanese critics and policymakers, including the reformist politicians who emerged after the political upheaval of 1993. Some of these same politicians now form the core of the party that defeated the LDP in August 2009.
He was made University Professor of Comparative Political and Economic Institutions at the University of Amsterdam in 1997. Since then he has continued to write books and articles for Japanese readers. He divides his time between East Asia and The Netherlands.
He is currently writing about the effect of American economic and foreign policies on the world.
Published books
- ‘Van Eyck to Brueghel’ – 1970, Tudor Publishing Company- ‘ Student Revolutionaries of the Sixties’ – Oost-West Publishing
- ‘The Enigma of Japanese Power’ - 1989, Alfred A. Knopf
- ‘Nihon wo dosuru ? – Akirameru mae ni, 144 no gimon’ -1991, Hayakawa
- ‘Min wa orokani tamote – Nihon kanryo, dai shimbun no honne’ – 1994, Shogakkan
- ‘Ningen wo koufuku ni shinai Nihon to iu shisutemu’ – 1994, Mainichi (Paperback 2000 Shinchosha)
- ‘Nihon no chishikijin he’ - 1995, Madosha
- ‘Shihaisha wo shihai seyo – senkyomae senkyogo’ - 1996, Mainichi
- ‘Naze Nihonjin wa Nihon wo aisenai no ka – kono fukou na kuni no yukikata’ – 1998, Mainichi
- ‘Okore! Nihon no chuuryuu dankyu’ – 1999, Mainichi
- Amerika wo koufuku ni shi sekai wo fukou ni suru fujouri na shikumi’ – 2000, Diamond
- ‘Nihon to iu kuni wo anata no mono ni suru tame ni’ – 2001, Kadokawa
- ‘Kaiketsu Wolferen no “Nihon waido gekijou”’ – 2001, President
- ‘Wolferen Kyoju no yasashii Nihon keizai’ – 2002, Diamond
- ‘Bush sekai wo kowashita kenryoku no shinjitsu’ - 2003, PHP
- ‘De Ondergang van een Wereldorde (vertaald) – 2003, Contact - Amsterdam, ISBN 90-254-1880-5
- ‘Amerika kara no “dokuritsu” ga Nihonjin wo koufuku ni suru’ – 2003, Jitsugyo no nihonsha
- ‘Sekai no asu ga kessuru hi – beidaitouryousengo no sekai wa dou naru no ka?’ – 2004, Kadokawa
- ‘Sekai ga Nihon wo mitomeru hi – mou Amerika no “zokkoku” de iru hitsuyou wa nai’ – 2005, PHP
- ‘Een Keerpunt in de Vaderlandse Geschiedenis (samen met Jan Sampiemon) – 2005, J.M. Meulenhoff, ISBN 90-290-7698-4
-‘ Mou hitotsu no sakoku – nihon wa sekai de koritsu suru’ – 2006, Kadokawa.
- ‘Nihonjin dake ga shiranai Amerika “sekaishihai” no owari’ - 2007, Shokumashoten