The topic on the quality of life and working life in a comparative perspective between Japan and Germany is of high relevance for the sustainability of our societies. The interdisciplinary approaches from the diverse fields of social sciences, i.e. sociology, psychology, economics, political science, architecture and environmental studies cover the diverse issue as well from a theoretical, empirical and historical perspective. The volume assembles the 26 best contributions to the 10th meeting of the German-Japanese Society for Social Sciences, which took place in August 2008 in Osnabruck."