قصة الكتاب :
Kōdansha, 2011. 303 pp. ¥1,800. ISBN 978-4-06-217065-9.
Furuichi Noritoshi
Born in 1985. Currently a doctoral student at the University of
Tokyo’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and a visiting researcher
at the Keiō Research Institute at SFC. His research focuses
on the themes of youth and community. Published works include
Kibō nanmin goikkō-sama: Pīsu Bōto to “shōnin no kyōdōtai” gensō [The
Delegation of Refugees of Hope: The Peace Boat “Community of
Approval”].

Following the collapse of the economic bubble in Japan in the early 1990s, the
recession dragged on for a long time and social inequalities, like an increasingly
stratified society and the phenomenon of the “working poor,” who are employed
but cannot maintain healthy finances, began to attract attention. Many feel that
the prolonged economic sluggishness has disadvantaged the younger generation
first in addition to impacting the lifestyle of those in middle or old age. The truth
is that as new recruitment continues to fall, young people face difficulty in finding
jobs and many are forced into the unstable existence of irregular employment.
Also, the intergenerational disparity of burdens borne and benefits received is
widening as the population ages. Despite this, however, there seem to be no signs
of rebellion among these young people. Why should this be?
This book maintains that there is a huge gap between the generally held image
of young people and their reality, and a popular image even further removed
from the perceptions of young people themselves. These youths are not as unhappy
as one might think. They value their relations with those around them and are
satisfied with small blessings. Of course they acknowledge that they have been
put at a disadvantage. However, they are well aware that as Japan becomes a mature
society, they cannot hope for things to be better tomorrow than they are
today.
The author himself is a young person, currently enrolled in a doctoral course
at the University of Tokyo. Making full use of this strength, he has cleverly drawn
out the real opinions of those of his own generation through interviews. With his
steady fieldwork and meticulous examination of the data, Furuichi has managed
to develop theories of young people quite unlike anything else to date. (CK)