Before You Accuse Me ...
A teenager says grown-ups who complain about kids' morals should first clean up their own act
By KENJI OIKAWA
Japan's jibetarians have attracted a lot of attention recently. These are the kids who squat on the ground (jibeta), in the street, on the train, in any public place--oblivious to the disapproving gazes of passers-by. Older Japanese deplore their behavior as an indication of social and public moral deficiency. There are other things the old folks dislike: youngsters speaking loudly on mobile phones in crowded trains as if no one were around; teenage girls in public places putting on makeup or changing stockings, again, as if nobody else were present.
How to interpret the phenomenon? To older Japanese, and to many outside the country, young Japanese seem to have lost a sense of public morals, to have turned away from "group consciousness" toward individualism. In my opinion, however, there hasn't actually been a great change in attitudes. Rather, these so-called deplorable manners are in fact typically Japanese.
Shinji Miyadai, a sociologist who was my mentor, analyzes public awareness in both Japan and the West in his book Manners at the End of the Century. He argues that Western societies developed public manners so that people of varying ethnic and religious backgrounds could live peacefully together. Exchanging smiles with a stranger in an elevator, for example, represents the "wisdom to ease relations with total strangers," he writes.
In Japan, however, we have no concept of the "public." We are not trained to deal with strangers. We are told, from the time we are small children, to get along with fellow members of our group. At an elementary school excursion, for instance, teachers tell us to make sure not to exclude any pupils when walking in small groups. When a student was hospitalized in my junior high school, the instructor told us to visit him because we were all friends. But nobody taught us how we should relate to strangers. Look at adult Japanese. They courteously greet people they know and behave politely with them. But as soon as they are out of sight of their company, they behave as they please. It's just like the old saying, "When away from home, have no shame." In the past when Japan was made up of small rural communities, it was common for respectable men on trips to shed their inhibitions and act wantonly. I think the youth whom older people frown upon today are acting just like these men.
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THIS WEEK'S TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Kenji Oikawa. Tom Wagner--Saba for TIME
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Young Japan Home
The Me Generation:
The country's privileged youth are struggling to define what they want. Their efforts--both frivolous and fundamental--are already beginning to transform the culture
Day in the Life:
What a 17-year-old girl does--and buys
Culture Club:
Tokyo has taken over as the source of what's hip and happening for the rest of East Asia
Sound Factory:
An Okinawa school turns out stars
Talk Talk:
What teens are chatting about online
Not Playing Ball:
A fresh generation is starting to shake up the hidebound world of Japanese baseball
Outside the Box:
Breaking the education straitjacket
Viewpoint:
Actress Youki Kudoh says respect the old ways
Viewpoint:
Parents should examine their own ethics
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