Anxiety over the sustainability of Japanese society, and anticipation for the rise of people's power

Overcoming the decade long tunnel of depression, Japanese economy has finally seen the light at the end and arrived on the path to steady growth in recent years. Improved profitability has made companies regain their confidence in the manufacturing of goods. Encouraged by the policy emphasizing technological development, Japan has become second to USA in the number of international patent rights awarded.

In another brighter note, Japan is fast becoming a leader in pop culture creation, as one young American journalist has pointed out in 2002 that “Japan is leading the world in Gross National Cool.” The “cool” he meant was “something attractive” in pop arts, animation, computer game software, apparel fashions, digital electronic products, gourmet cuisine, etc. The waves of new pop cultures from Japan are appealing to the youth all over the world, whether in America, Asia, or Europe.

Despite the brighter future indicated by above trends, the Japanese society holds several anxiety factors that question its sustainability. One such factor concerns its demography, or the shrinking and aging of population. The demographic statistics such as the total fertility rate coming down to 1.29 and the population growth rate hitting 0.11 have sent a shock wave through Japanese populace. Considering that 2.1 is the number of total fertility rate needed to stabilize the number of population, these statistics certainly indicate the severity of population decrease in Japan.

Moreover, the aging of population will advance further in Japan at the quickest rate and in the grandest scale among the developed countries. Its population of 65 years old or over will reach 27% of total population by 2025 from the current rate of 19.24%.

Fewer children and more aged population mean that there will be slower economic growth, reduced savings, deteriorated fiscal balance, gridlock in a pension system, and inter-generational conflicts.

There are fewer children in the Japanese society, because the number of singles is growing while the average marriage age is rising, which seems to reflect the values of younger generation. For example, the rates of singles in 50 years old were 1.2% for men and 1.4% for women in 1950, but increased to 12.2% for men and 5.7% for women in recent years.

“Parasite Single” is the latest word used to describe those young people who live at their parents’ homes, and use their wages solely for their pleasure in hobbies and fashions. The singles between 20 to 39 years old consist about 10% of the total population, reaching about 1.2 million in numbers.

Belatedly, the Japanese Government has sought measures to increase the number of children, including those to improve child-care facilities, to encourage the acquisition of child education licenses, and to provide subsidies for child education. More than any of these measures, however, the Government should introduce a policy to promote the values of families, and to re-emphasize the pleasure of starting a family.

According to the National Police Agency publication in July 2004, the number of suicides grew to 34,427 people in 2003. The increase may reflect the hardships of life and despair due to job loss resulted from the restructuring of Japanese companies.

With economic recovery, unemployment rate comes down to 4.2% in September 2005, but the unemployment of younger generation still remains high at about 10%. Moreover, many younger people seem to have difficulty in finding a future vision for their lives, and end up as a “furi-tar (temp workers)” who, even with a diploma, passes time as a part-time worker or temp staff. The number of such workers increased to 2.17 million in 2003. It is no exaggeration, therefore, to describe the phenomenon as the wavering of Japanese people’s diligence and values.

The anxiety for social sustainability stems not only from the demographic front, but also in the field of social safety. Once called the safest society in the world, Japan is finding a drastic growth in its crime rate. The number of criminal offenses dragged somewhat in 2003, yet it still hit 2.79 million, 1 million more than 8 years ago. The rate of arrests, on the other hand, dropped from 47% to 23% for the same period. The number of family murder cases increased, while criminals were becoming younger and more violent.

Another anxiety factor receiving more attention these days is the deterioration of education. Due to the implementation of “more flexible education” policy, elementary and junior high school students are said to show less academic abilities. Japanese colleges and universities are internationally less competitive than those of other countries, as evident in the fewer number of foreign students enrolled in Japanese universities compared with those in other developed countries.

Despite the recent economic recovery, Japan has much to improve in the soundness of its society and the sense of solidarity in order to sustain the society for the future. Not only schools but also companies, families, local communities, and NPOs must join efforts to improve education and to regain disciplines, in other words, to enrich and exercise the “people’s power” to its full extent. The 21st Century is said to be the “age of intellectuals” or the “age of globalism.” The “people’s power” is the one to create new values sought by humans in such time. It will also help convey the charms of Japanese society to all others in the world. Hope that Japan will remain an advanced society that is rich in creativity, brings up the synergy of people’s power, and provides social disciples and respects to the values of others.