"John W." wrote:

> 70% of students don't want same career as parents
>
> From Yomiuri: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20040914wo31.htm
>
> This certainly shouldn't be a surprise, and doubtful will be seen as a
> wakeup call, if the Japanese media even give time to the story.

Media give a lot of time to stories to comment on or try to explain the
number of those who are not in regular employment by choice, those who
are called freeter or NEET. There were a couple of stories in English
just last week about special job hunting or counseling services, and
another about a "boot camp" to change their thinking, I believe it was.

> One of
> the reasons quoted by the story was that "... their parents' jobs
> seemed boring, and involved excessively long hours." I read into that
> kids who would like to have a parent that spends time with them.

They've done stories on this too, when analyzing why youth behave badly.
One claim is it is a method of seeking attention, another that bad
behavior such as enjo kosai is the result of inattention or lack of
affection.

> Too bad that ain't gonna happen.

It's why foreigners like myself or younger Japanese singles and families
might leave the country for good for more enriching, if not actually more
well paid, lives abroad.

When enough young people or families suffer, or when these freeters and
NEETs raise their own families to adulthood, people in general might
change their minds. Maybe Japan will have their own hippie generation. It
will be difficult to ignore the growing differences between upper and
lower classes, and those who get a "good" education and the much greater
number of those who do not. After all, only 40% of high school graduates
in Japan are able to go to ANY university, despite recent reforms and
decline in number of children which should be making it easier to enter,
and one story claimed that while "parents need an annual income of at
least \8 million if they want to send their children to cram schools and
then to private middle schools" only "4.6 percent of the respondents said
they had earned more than \8 million in 2002". Another story, describing
the decline in university student spending claims the average student's
household income reported was \9 million per year, also far beyond the
average household income of \6 million yen per year. As a matter of fact,
one of the stories was entitled: "Education gap shaking society", with
the continuation headed "Education gap seen causing ructions in society."
I don't know what ructions are, but it sounds serious.

Surprisingly enough, the US is experiencing their own societal or family
problems as people try to earn and consume more. A number of Americans
have quickly realized the problem, and are trying to avoid or counteract
it, such as the DC area (?) psychological counselor who came out with the
long article "Life isn't just getting into college. Really." as a message
to parents and children or some teens she quoted saying they did not WANT
lives like their parents where their mothers were miserable or their
fathers working all the time. Japan has not recognized their own problem
so quickly.