GLOBALIZATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN, edited by J.S. Eades, Tom Gill and Harumi Befu. Trans Pacific Press, Melbourne, 2000. 295 pp., 3,250 yen (paper).

The word "globalization" is used with increasing frequency these days. It is variously employed to describe the increasing degrees of communication and travel across national boundaries. Importantly, it is not just economies that are feeling its effects -- globalization impacts upon the politics, culture and family life of all countries within its reach.

But it would also be true to say that, despite our increased use of the term, globalization itself is not a recent phenomenon. What is recent, or has at least sped up and emphasized the process and impact of globalization, is information technology and the Internet.

It is in this respect that more and more ordinary people are becoming aware of the world around them and are starting to make use of the access they have to the economies, politics and culture of the world in which they live.