Abstract
The aim of this paper is to consider the analytical framework and basic premises while exploring the situation of multiple second modernities under glocalization, and deals with Japan as a case study. In doing so, the paper sets up as its subject the different patterns of relationships between the individual, intermediate groups, and the state in each locality and pursues the transformation of these patterns in contemporary society. As an implication, it concomitantly explores the relationship between globalization and sociological theory.
The structural tensions inherent in modern society between traditional and contractual elements are periodically expressed in the institutional patterns of the relationships between the individual, intermediate groups, and the state in each area. As part of its basic analytical frame, this paper considers the similarities and differences between the theory of glocalization and that of multiple modernities in order to articulate the two approaches; further, this paper tries to form a typology of the "West," "U.S.A." and "Japan" in terms of their relational patterns with respect to the three factors mentioned above. In the age of multiple second modernities, relational patterns are expressed as configurations of individuality (and not the individual), intermediate networks (not intermediate groups) and transforming states (and not just states). To observe the distinctness of each locality in all its plurality, we need to consider not only the institutional structure of the three factors but also the more fundamental logic behind all collective/individual formations in each society in question.
In considering these issues, our paper focuses on the case of Japan, in order to analyze contemporary Japan as one of states that exhibits multiple second modernities under the glocalization process. Our findings are based on our observations of Japan's historical and cultural distinctness.
