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An Invitation to Latin America: Let's Learn about and Study Its Society
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About this book
About this book
Latin America is perhaps the least-known region in Japan. Consequently, Latin America is generally a subject of low interest among the Japanese public. At the same time, the absolute number of university students who may study Latin America will be decreasing in Japan as the birthrate declines.
In this context, as university faculty members, we wrote this book to encourage people to learn about Latin America. First and foremost, we designed the textbook so that gaining knowledge would spark the readers' interest and inspire a desire for further study. This textbook primarily targets university students and ambitious high school students, who will lead the next generation, and invites them to the Latin American world by focusing on social issues affecting people's daily lives. Therefore, in compiling this textbook, we prioritized providing inspiration for further, specialized study over pursuing a highly academic presentation.
As an e-book, this textbook is designed to provide seamless access to online resources, including previous studies, websites, and videos. We invite everyone to download this free publication.
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Latin America: An Unknown in Japan
Author: Ryohei Konta
Chapter 1
Drug Problems in Latin America: A Case Study of the Formation and Growth of the Cocaine Business
Author: Yuichi Sendai
Chapter 2
Organized Violence in Latin America: Why Is Latin America a Dangerous Region?
Author: Yuichi Sendai
Column①
The Entertainment Industry Consuming Drug Problems: Why Do Drug Issues Become the Subject of Entertainment?
Author: Yuichi Sendai
Chapter 3
Natural Disasters in Latin America: Changing Trends and Responses in the Twenty-First Century
Author: Takanori Kobayashi
Chapter 4
Public Health in Latin America: Pursuing Health as a Right
Author: Wakana Okuda
Chapter 5
Gender and LGBTQ+ in Latin America: A Landscape of Rights and Violence
Author: Nana Watabe
Column②
The Gender-Neutral Expressions: Inclusive Language
Author: Nana Watabe
Chapter 6
Human Rights in Latin America: Mechanisms of Violation and Protection
Author: Koichi Usami
Chapter 7
Religion in Latin America: The Current State of the "Catholic Continent"
Author: Nana Watabe
Column③
Openly Political Latin American Mass Media: Brazil's “Cultural” Budget and Globo
Author: Ryohei Konta
Chapter 8
Inequality in Latin America: The Impact of Poverty on Society as a Whole
Author: Wakana Okuda
Chapter 9
Social Security in Latin America: A System Mirroring Inequality
Author: Koichi Usami
Chapter 10
Conditional Cash Transfers: Data and Trends in Latin American Social Assistance
Author: Ryohei Konta
Chapter 11
Social Movements in Latin America: Participation of the Socially Excluded Poor
Author: Ryohei Konta
Chapter 12
Human Migration in Latin America: Globalization and Social Change
Author: Shigeru Suzuki
Preface
Preface
Among the various regions in the world, Latin America is perhaps the least-known in Japan, as knowledge and information are lacking due to the vast geographic distance. As I recall, high-school world history classes covered only a few Latin American topics, such as the Inca Empire and Maya civilization before the "discovery" of the New World; Simon Bolivar as the father of independence; and the Potosi silver mines that supported Europe's prosperity. In Japan, opportunities to broaden one's interest and knowledge regarding Latin America have long been limited compared to the attention given to other regions. At the same time, the absolute number of university students who may study Latin America—a region that remains unfamiliar and thereby attracts limited interest—will be decreasing, as the country's youth population has shrunk due to the declining birthrate. As specialists on Latin America, we, the authors, have a special attachment to the region based on our extensive experiences. Given the current trends in Japan, we fear a future in which that fewer and fewer Latin America specialists will remain. Put differently, Latin America experts in Japan can currently be considered an endangered species.
In this context, as university faculty members, we wrote this book to encourage people to learn about Latin America. First and foremost, we designed the textbook so that gaining knowledge would spark the readers' interest and inspire a desire for further study. As explained in the introductory chapter, this textbook primarily targets university students and ambitious high school students—leaders of the next generation—and invites them to the Latin American world by focusing on social issues affecting people's daily lives. We hope that this volume will motivate readers to gain knowledge on the region and pursue further study. The title of the book, An Invitation to Latin America: Learning About and Study Its Society, embodies these thoughts and hopes.
In the spirit of the title, this book is primarily an invitation to students taking a class on Latin America for the first time. While the textbook focuses on social issues, it is not based on a specific discipline such as sociology. In compiling this volume, we prioritized providing a gateway to or inspiration for further, specialized study over pursuing a highly academic presentation. In addition, utilizing the features of the e-book format, we have embedded URLs throughout the text, which enable readers to access relevant websites and videos by clicking the links. These resources have been carefully selected for deeper visual understanding. We have included URLs for previous studies and other materials that are freely accessible online.
We have selected, to the best of our ability, a wide range of interesting topics regarding Latin American society and incorporated them into this textbook. The chapters are non-sequential; therefore, instructors and students are encouraged to choose topics as desired, in any order, and start learning about Latin America. We hope that readers will be inspired to learn more about Latin America and will engage in deeper study of the topics that interest them.
March 2026
Editor