The Jilted Generation, by Noritoshi Furuichi (sociologist)
At the invitation of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, I gave a talk there with a British researcher and a journalist. The theme wasthe problems of young people in Japan and the UK. My discussion with Guardian journalist Ed Howker, author of the best-selling book Jilted Generation, left a deep impression on me. This book, which he published in 2010, has generated a great deal of discussion in the UK.
The book bemoans the “unhappiness” of young people. UKsociety is said to have very clear class distinctions, with even the supermarkets people use and the areas where they live dependent on their class. Given this situation, the UK had seen relatively little discussion of generational differences, a big issue in Japan.
Jilted Generation, however, describesthe position in which young people find themselves more from a generational perspective. Today’s younger generation find themselves treated less favourably than the older generation in various ways. For instance, their taxes continue to rise despite the fact that their average incomes arefalling. Housing costs are rising, and it is becoming ever more difficult for young people to own a home. As a result, many young people are forced to live with their parents, and this is certainly not because they are lazy parasites.
Of course there are also plenty of differences between the two countries, including the fact that the UK is actively taking in immigrants, and that the decline in its birth rate is less severe than it is in Japan. But the debate about young people, at least, is rather similar to ours.
In Japan, a focus on generational differences, inthe form of a debate about young people, emerged in around 1970. Thisissue surfaced at exactly the same time as the expression “100 million middle class” [i.e.“all Japanese are middle class”]. Until that point, the situation for Japanese young people varied depending on factors including the region they came from, the industry they worked in, and their educational level. It had therefore been unusual to group them together as a generation and regard them as a single cohort. But as the perception of class differences receded along with the “100 million middle class” concept, the perception of generational differences started to seem real.
If large numbers of people in the UK are feeling that generational differences are a reality, this may be because British society is facing serious problems beyond the traditional ones of class.
To a greater or lesser extent,all developed countries are struggling with ageing populations. In periods of “population bonus” in which the population of productive age (15-64) is larger than the rest, countries benefit from cheap labour, and it is easy for them to achieve economic growth. The UK and Japan were examples of this in the past, as South East Asia is now.
But with the “population bonus” period having ended, we are now in a period of “population onus”. “Onus” means “burden” – in which the relatively small generation currentlyin employment has to bear nursing and other social security costs for the elderly. It naturally becomes impossible to achieve the kind of economic growth seen in “population bonus” periods.
This is a problem faced by everybody, regardless of class. We Japaneseused to believe that everybody could rise in class, and the debate about generational differences surfacedalong with the “100 million middle class” concept. The UK, on the other hand, now faces serious problems beyond just those of class. This receding of class issues may be behind the success of Jilted Generation.
Conversely, what about Japan? There has been an increasing focus in Japan on what the British refer to as “class” – issues like inequalities in society and the problem of poverty. Meanwhile, just as in the UK, young people in Japan are in general placed at a disadvantage. Class problems exist, but generational problems are also severe. Developed countries may have pursued different routes, but ended up in a similar position.
Nihon Keizai Shinbun, 30/10/2013