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The article talks about the approach and concerns of cultural anthropology in Japan which are highly eccentric to the Japanese intellectual tradition. Cultural anthropology in the country is relatively isolated from the rest of the world and overwhelmed by local materials and discussions. Most of the cultural anthropologists in the country rarely addressed their work to the international community. Furthermore, though the Japanese Society of Ethnology has long been known as the nationwide academic association of cultural anthropologists, it was only after World War II that cultural anthropology became recognized as an independent discipline in Japan's academic field.

Patterns of family size, family stability, and timing of family formation characteristic of Mexican-Americans are contrasted with those of Japanese-Americans, and consequences of their demographic differences for group achievement are explored. Mexican-Americans are found to have a demographic system marked by young ages at marriage, young ages at beginning of childbearing, high rates of reproduction, and high rates of marital instability. Japanese-Americans display just the opposite pattern of behavior on each of these variables. Using existing research on determinants of individual achievement, reasons are then suggested why the demographic environment encountered by Japanese-American youth is more conducive to educational and economic achievement than is that encountered by Mexican-American youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]