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 was the 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. UK society 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, describes the 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 are
falling. 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, in the form of a debate about
young people, emerged in around 1970. This issue 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 currently in 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 Japanese used
to believe that everybody could rise in class, and the debate about generational
differences surfaced along 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