02/05/2014
七六世代：日本改變的一代
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/features/letters-from/japans-change-generation
[台灣改變的一代，就在我們身上!]
七六世代，指的是日本出生在1976年左右，正在逐漸發揮影響力的科技企業家。
他們來自更不受二戰歷史包袱與泡沫時代消費主義束縛的一代。他們相知並支持彼此，往往透過了日本商業網路以及國際社團。
儘管他們享受對政府的影響力與政府的支持，他們尚未尋求正式的政治變革。他們傾向先對付他們自己的社會問題。
七六世代正在透過三個方式改變日本社會：
1. 在那些缺乏政府回應的領域，發起自己的運動，散發自己的能量（孩童照護，災害支援）;
2. 支持喚起日本生命力的政策（鼓吹留學以及在校英語指導）;以及
3. 推動更自由主義及公開的公共氛圍（強調多樣性，婦女賦權以及個人主義）。
七六世代有能力反正日本的右翼旋風以及恐外仇恨言論，並且已在最近主導了日本新聞。事實上，他們也可能獲得長期的勝利－－自由主義傾向在年輕一代日漸上升。
七六世代的崛起
近因：地震海嘯核災動搖了大眾對政府的信心。
第二，對南韓及中國崛起的焦慮，以及日本日漸老化並萎縮的人口，激使日本人認為：非改變不可。
第三，日本家庭結構的改變。現在三分之一的日本家庭是只由一個人組成的。二十年後，將達到百分之四十。他們不附著於任何保守價值，也沒有自己的家庭。同時，結婚率也在下降。35-44歲跟父母同住者已有總人口數百分之十六，即三百萬，2000年只有百分之十，這些人對現狀越來越感到挫折。
第四，世代轉換孕育了參與公民社會的新態度。在某程度上，是對享受奢侈的泡沫時代，卻留下停滯經濟的嬰兒潮世代的怨怒。嬰兒潮世代也更相信政府。
最後，可能最叫人吃驚的是，安倍晉三政府的辭藻實際上幫忙敲開了舉國的保守心態，讓新想法得以進入。包括女性在經濟力量上的重要性。
Typically in their thirties and forties, they are called nana roku sedai, or ’76ers, referring to tech entrepreneurs who were born around 1976 and are just now becoming influential. This group comes from a generation much less concerned with the historical baggage of World War II and the consumerism of their bubble-era forebears. They tend to know and support one another through Japanese business networks such as Japan Platform and NetAge, as well as through international groups such as the World Economic Forum in Davos and the Japan Society in New York. And although they enjoy influence with and support from the government, they have yet to seek change through the formal political system. For now, at least, they prefer to tackle societal problems on their own.
The ’76ers are remaking Japanese society in three ways: by launching their own initiatives where government responses are lacking (providing child care and disaster relief, for example), by supporting policies geared toward revitalizing Japan (advocating for study abroad programs and English instruction in schools), and by pushing for a more liberal and open public sphere (emphasizing diversity, women’s empowerment, and individualism).
Together, the ’76ers are capable of counterbalancing the right-wing blustering and xenophobic hate speech that has dominated the news about Japan recently. In fact, they are likely to win out in the long run; as in the United States, surveys reveal a gradually growing liberal bent in Japan, especially among young people. In October 2012, for example, a government survey found that fewer Japanese perceived gender inequality in the workplace than in the past, that more of them believed that equal educational opportunities for males and females existed, and that fewer young women aspired to be full-time homemakers. Another survey from the Pew Research Center showed that a majority of Japanese people now accept g**s and le****ns, and other polls have indicated a lack of interest in marriage among young people. Most Japanese are cautious about Japan’s rearmament. And these trends show no signs of slowing.
There are a number of factors behind the recent rise of the ’76ers, beginning with the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis, which shook public confidence and challenged the status quo. Before the earthquake, the mentality was to “hold on to what you’ve got,” Hiromi Matsubara, the CEO of Surfrider Foundation Japan, told me. “But now everyone knows lifetime employment is over, the government sucks, and there is no social security. With no security, you might as well give it a try … People realized you can lose everything.”
The second contributing factor is growing anxiety about the rise of South Korea, which Japanese consider a business rival, and of China, which took Japan’s spot as the world’s second-largest economy in 2011. The aging and shrinking of the Japanese population are troublesome too. At this point, many Japanese have concluded that the country has no choice but to change. “Japan is under pressure from China and Korea, and Japanese people feel that pressure,” said Yuichi Hosoya, a professor at Keio University who advises the prime minister. “Some youth feel isolated or lost, so they are trying to have a stronger national identity. The weaker people [in society] will cling to a big, national identity, which Abe plays to, while the stronger ones are more global,” he said.
A third catalyst is the changing nature of the Japanese home. A third of all Japanese households are now occupied by a single person, up from about a quarter a decade ago and a fifth in 1980. By 2035, the figure will near 40 percent. According to Yoichi Nishimura, a board member of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, these “so-called family refugees are not tied to conservative values but also … have no families of their own.” A related demographic trend is the decline of marriage. Single people aged 35 to 44 living with their parents now number three million, or 16 percent of the total population, a significant increase from 10 percent in 2000 and just two percent in 1980. These people, now entering middle age, are becoming frustrated with the status quo and their lack of options.
Fourth, a generational shift is fostering a new attitude toward participation in civil society. In some ways, the mood is a result of resentment toward the baby boom generation born in 1947–1949, which enjoyed the opulent bubble years, left behind economic stagnation, and was more trusting of the government. According to a recent study by the public relations firm Edelman, popular trust in government officials plummeted from 63 percent to eight percent after the 2011 earthquake. As Kensuke Onishi, the CEO of the nonprofit Peace Winds Japan, put it, “We feel that the baby boomer generation was selfish … And our generation, the babies of baby boomers, is more active in volunteer work. When I said I wanted to work at an NGO, the boomers were astonished; they said it was a waste and stupid. No one was proud of me in Japan. But now that’s changing.”
Finally, and perhaps most surprising, the Abe administration’s public rhetoric has actually helped open the national conversation up to new ideas. Although Abe’s record is mixed, many of the people I spoke to said Abe’s speeches on the importance of women to economic dynamism have allowed Japanese to speak more freely about diversity and gender in professional settings. “At present, most people think that men naturally hold management positions. But suddenly Abe is changing this perspective by saying that women’s roles should change, sparking a new debate,” said Koichi Kaneda of Takeda Pharmaceuticals, a company that has become a poster child for progressive policies.
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