Comments on: Darwin and Japan’s Lost Generation http://www.stippy.com/japan-people-and-society/darwin-and-japans-lost-generation/ A fresh look at Japan, by gaijins for gaijins! Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:45:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Vicki http://www.stippy.com/japan-people-and-society/darwin-and-japans-lost-generation/#comment-6948 Vicki Sat, 14 Apr 2007 05:21:47 +0000 http://www.stippy.com/japan-people-and-society/darwin-and-japans-lost-generation/#comment-6948 You know, several older Japanese friends have mentioned to me that it's not so much an increase in child abuse as an increase in reporting. "In the old days, it happened a lot, but it was swept under the rug. No-one ever talked about it. And family matters were kept in the family." This morning I was in a hamburger shop in Osaka, and sat at a table next to a father and his (roughly) 14-year-old son. They did not say one word to each other. Not one word! The father read a comic, and the boy simply sat staring at his soda, for nearly an hour. It was as if they were strangers. It made me sad. You know, several older Japanese friends have mentioned to me that it’s not so much an increase in child abuse as an increase in reporting. “In the old days, it happened a lot, but it was swept under the rug. No-one ever talked about it. And family matters were kept in the family.”

This morning I was in a hamburger shop in Osaka, and sat at a table next to a father and his (roughly) 14-year-old son. They did not say one word to each other. Not one word! The father read a comic, and the boy simply sat staring at his soda, for nearly an hour. It was as if they were strangers. It made me sad.

]]> By: Richmond http://www.stippy.com/japan-people-and-society/darwin-and-japans-lost-generation/#comment-6808 Richmond Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:20:33 +0000 http://www.stippy.com/japan-people-and-society/darwin-and-japans-lost-generation/#comment-6808 To be honest, Silver, much of what you are describing is happening everywhere. I was visiting America on a holiday a few months back and was shocked to see exactly the same scene as what you described in the sushi shop - only worse. The young kid was sitting at the table (it was a restaurant) watching a movie on his portable DVD player. Besides the fact that it was noisy, I was shocked that his family thought that watching a movie was more important than communicating at the dinner table - so important that they had to encourage him to watch TV even outside of their lounge room. The number of whacky incidents in Japan is definitely on the rise but I think you see them in all corners of the world. Your comments about education, family structure etc are right on the ball and that worries me more - think about what the next generation of kids are gonna be like... To be honest, Silver, much of what you are describing is happening everywhere. I was visiting America on a holiday a few months back and was shocked to see exactly the same scene as what you described in the sushi shop - only worse. The young kid was sitting at the table (it was a restaurant) watching a movie on his portable DVD player. Besides the fact that it was noisy, I was shocked that his family thought that watching a movie was more important than communicating at the dinner table - so important that they had to encourage him to watch TV even outside of their lounge room.

The number of whacky incidents in Japan is definitely on the rise but I think you see them in all corners of the world. Your comments about education, family structure etc are right on the ball and that worries me more - think about what the next generation of kids are gonna be like…

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