Prostate Health, Ageing and Society in Japan

This ethnographic study of prostate health in super-aged Japan analyses prostate cancer and benign hyperplasia. Castro-Vázquez examines how biomedicine links prostate health to ethnicity and lifestyle choices, where a clinical issue renders a social matter, and early detection and prevention becomes an individual responsibility.

Genaro Castro-Vázquez is Professor of Sociology in the Asian Studies Programme at Kansai Gaidai University, Japan, where he teaches courses related to sociology of health, sociology of education, gender and society, and sexuality and society. His area of study is Japan, and his interests of research involve health, medicine, sexuality, gender, ethnicity and education, as well as issues faced by Latin Americans living in Japan. Recent publications include Masculinity and Body Weight in Japan: Grappling with Metabolic Syndrome (Routledge, 2020) and Intimacy and Reproduction in Contemporary Japan (Routledge, 2016).

List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgements Introduction: Incontinence or after-dribble 1 Contexts and prostate health 2 Investigating prostate health 3 Cultural scripts and prostate health 4 Urologists and prostate health 5 The embodied self and prostate health 6 Lifestyle and prostate health 7 Prostate health and economics Conclusion: Why prostate health? Index