TheNewGenerationinJapan

　　日本的新一代

　　INTHISARTICLE:Japanesestudentsseemtobelosingpatiencewithwork...(and)prefereasyjobswithoutheavyresponsibility.

　　本文简介：日本学生似乎正对工作失去耐心……（而且）更喜欢无需负重大责任的轻松工作.

　　[1]Japan'spost-WorldWarIIvaluesystemofdiligence,cooperation,andhardworkischanging.RecentsurveysshowthatJapaneseyouthhavebecomea"MeGeneration"thatrejectstraditionalvalues.

　　[2]"Around1980manyJapanese,especiallyyoungpeople,abandonedthevaluesofeconomicsuccessandbegansearchingfornewsetsofvaluestobringthemhappiness,"writessociologistYasuhiroYoshizakiinComparativeCivilizationsReview.Japaneseyouthareplacingmoreimportanceontheindividual'spursuitofhappinessandlessonthevaluesofwork,family,andsociety.

　　[3]Japanesestudentsseemtobelosingpatiencewithwork,unliketheircounterpartsintheUnitedStatesandKorea.Ina1993surveyofcollegestudentsinthethreecountries,only10%oftheJapaneseregardedworkasaprimaryvalue,comparedwith47%oftheirKoreancounterpartsand27%ofAmericanstudents.AgreaterproportionofJapaneseaged18to24alsopreferredeasyjobswithoutheavyresponsibility.

　　[4]ConcernforfamilyvaluesiswaningamongyoungerJapaneseastheypursueaninnerworldofprivatesatisfaction.DatacollectedbytheJapanesegovernmentin1993showsthatonly2304ofJapaneseyoutharethinkingaboutsupportingtheiragedparents,incontrastto63%ofyoungAmericans.Itappearsthatmanyyounger-generationJapanesearelosingbothrespectfortheirparentsandasenseofresponsibilitytothefamily.AuthorYoshizakiattributesthechangetoJapaneseparents'over-indulgenceoftheirchildren,materialaffluence,andgrowingconcernforprivatematters.

　　[5]TheshifttowardindividualismamongJapaneseismostpronouncedamongtheveryyoung.Accordingto1991datafromtheSeimeiHokenBunkaCenterofJapan,50%ofJapaneseyouthaged16to19canbelabeled"self-centered",comparedwith33%amongthoseaged25to29Toearntheself-centeredlabel,theyoungpeoplerespondedpositivelytosuchideasas"Iwouldliketomakedecisionswithoutconsideringtraditionalvalues"and"Idon'twanttodoanythingIcan'tenjoydoing".

　　[6]Diminishingsocialresponsibility,accordingtoYoshizaki,istiedtothegrowinginterestinpleasureandpersonalsatisfaction.Astudycomparingsociety-consciousyouthfrom1977to1990foundthattheJapanesehadslippedfarbehindAmericanandAustralianstudents.Only11%ofJapaneseaged18to24saidtheygetpersonalsatisfactionindoingsomethingonbehalfofsociety,accordingto1993datafromtheJapanesegovernment,whilefourlimesasmanyAmericanssaid50.

　　[7]YoshizakiconcludesthattheentirevaluesystemofJapaneseyouthisundergoingmajortransformation,buttheyoungergenerationhasnotyetfoundaneworganizedvaluesystemtoreplacetheold.

　　日本二战以后形成的勤奋、合作和努力工作的价值体系正在发生变化.最近的调查显示,日本青年已变成了拒绝传统价值观的“自我一代”.

　　“1980年前后,许多日本人,特别是年轻人,摒弃了经济上成功的价值基准,开始寻找能给他们带来幸福快乐的新的价值准则,”社会学家吉崎康宏在《文明比较评论》一书中这样写道.日本青年人现在越来越重视追求个人幸福而越来越少关注工作、家庭和社会的价值基准.

　　日本学生似乎正对工作失去耐心,而美国和韩国学生却不是这样.在一项1993年的对这三个国家的高校学生进行的调查中,只有10％的日本人认为工作是一个主要的价值体现物,而韩国人和美国人分别是47％和27％.年龄在18到24岁的大多数日本人还更喜欢无需负重大责任的轻松工作.

　　日本小青年中对家庭价值基准的关心在逐渐衰退,取而代之的是追求个人内心世界