This volume is the first comprehensive survey of the sociolinguistic studies on Japanese. Japanese, like other languages, has developed a highly diverse linguistic system that is realized as variation shaped by interactions of linguistic and social factors. This volume primarily focuses on both classic and current topics of sociolinguistics that were first studied in Western languages, and then subsequently examined in the Japanese language. The topics in this volume cover major issues in sociolinguistics that also characterize sociolinguistic features of Japanese. Such topics as gender, honorifics, and politeness are particularly pertinent to Japanese, as is well-known in general sociolinguistics. At the same time, this volume includes studies on other topics such as social stratification, discourse, contact, and language policy, which have been widely conducted in the Japanese context. In addition, this volume introduces domestic approaches to sociolinguistics developed in Japan. They emerged a few decades before the development of the so-called Labovian and Hymesian sociolinguistics in the US, and they have shaped a unique development of sociolinguistic studies in Japan. Contents Part I: HistoryChapter 1: Research methodologyFlorian CoulmasChapter 2: Japan and the international sociolinguistic communityYoshiyuki Asahi and J.K. ChambersChapter 3: Language lifeTakehiro Shioda Part II: Sociolinguistic patternsChapter 4: Style, prestige, and salience in language change in progressFumio InoueChapter 5: Group language (shudango)Taro NakanishiChapter 6: Male-female differences in JapaneseYoshimitsu Ozaki Part III: Language and genderChapter 7: Historical overview of language and gender studies: From past to futureOrie Endo and Hideko AbeChapter 8: Genderization in Japanese: A typological viewKatsue A. ReynoldsChapter 9: Feminist approaches to Japanese language, gender, and sexualityMomoko Nakamura Part IV: Honorifics and politenessChapter 10: Japanese honorificsTakashi NagataChapter 11: Intersection of traditional Japanese honorific theories and Western politeness theoriesMasato TakiuraChapter 12: Intersection of discourse politeness theory and interpersonal CommunicationMayumi Usami Part V: Culture and discourse phenomenaChapter 13: Subjective expression and its roles in Japanese discourse: Its development in Japanese and impact on general linguisticsYoko UjiieChapter 14: Style, character, and creativity in the discourse of Japanese popular culture: Focusing on light novels and keitai novelsSenko K. MaynardChapter 15: Sociopragmatics of political discourseShoji Azuma Part VI: Language contactChapter 16: Contact dialects of JapaneseYoshiyuki AsahiChapter 17: Japanese loanwords and lendwordsFrank E. DaultonChapter 18: Japanese language varieties outside JapanMie HiramotoChapter 19: Language contact and contact languages in JapanDaniel Long Part VII: Language policyChapter 20: Chinese characters: Variation, policy, and landscapeHiroyuki SasaharaChapter 21: Language, economy, and nationKatsumi Shibuya