NONFICTION - June 2, 1991

JINSEI ANNAI: Glimpses of Japan Through a Popular Advice Column by John McKinstry and Asako Nakajima McKinstry (M. E. Sharpe: $24.95; 219 pp.). Now the Japanese are talking about taking up residence in Manhattan’s AT&T; Towers. We still seem to regard them as being inexplicably different--in the way they think, in their attitudes about life--but being an ostrich isn’t the solution when they own so much of the sand. What to do? John McKinstry and Asako Nakajima McKinstry suggest studying a Japanese daily newspaper’s advice column, to get a glimpse of how the collective mind works. They’ve reviewed a year’s worth of “Jinsei Annai,” which translates to “Life’s Guide,” and given us sample letters, along with their commentary. But don’t expect the entertainment quotient of an Ann Landers or Dear Abby. The Japanese take their advice columns very seriously, and the book ends up a stern, and often sad, look at a rather rigid social and family structure.