1、[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.

　　[1]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”.

　　[2]“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.

　　[3]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.

　　[4]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的满足.日本政府于1993年搜集的数据表明,只有23%的日本青年想着要供养年迈的父母,与美国青年的63%形成鲜明对比.这显示出很多年轻一代的日本人正丧失对父母的重视和对家庭的负任感.作者吉崎康宏将这种变化归咎于父母对对孩子的纵容溺爱、物质的富有和对个人事物关注程度的增强.

　　[5]日本人向个人主义的转变在青少年中最为显著.根据日本生命保险文化中心1991年的数据,50％的16到19岁的日本青