（社説）若者の意識 「どうせ」のその先へ

June 17, 2014
EDITORIAL: Young Japanese need help to outgrow defeatist mentality
（社説）若者の意識　「どうせ」のその先へ

An international survey has offered much reassurance to certain people who are pessimistic about Japan’s younger generations.
Some of these pessimists passionately argue that young Japanese do not take pride in their country because of “self-deprecating views” about Japanese history that have been firmly planted in their minds. Others vociferously claim that the consciousness of social norms among Japanese youth has declined because excessive individualism has prevailed.
　「『自虐史観』を植えつけられて、若者が自国に誇りを持てなくなっている」
　「行き過ぎた個人主義がはびこり規範意識が低下している」

They should feel a little easier now given the results of an online survey, conducted by the Cabinet Office from November to December 2013, covering males and females between the ages of 13 and 29 in Japan, South Korea, the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Sweden.
The survey drew responses from around 1,000 individuals in each country.
The findings were included in this year’s White Paper on Children and Young People that has been approved by the Cabinet.
　こう熱心に主張される向きには、まずは安心して頂きたい。
　閣議決定された今年の「子ども・若者白書」は、日本、韓国、米国、英国、ドイツ、フランス、スウェーデンの計７カ国で、１３～２９歳の男女約千人ずつを対象に昨年実施したインターネット調査の結果を掲載した。

Seventy percent of the Japanese respondents said they are proud of being their country’s nationals, the fourth-highest ratio following the figures for the United States, Sweden and Britain. In addition, 55 percent of the Japanese respondents said they want to do things that will contribute to their nation, the highest ratio among the seven countries.
　「自国人であることに誇りを持っている」と答えた人の割合は、日本が７０％。米国、スウェーデン、英国に次いで高く、「自国のために役立つと思うようなことをしたい」は５５％でトップだった。

When asked if they think individuals are free to do anything they want as long as they don’t cause trouble for others, only 42 percent of the Japanese young people said “yes,” a far lower ratio than the average of about 80 percent for the other countries.
一方「他人に迷惑をかけなければ、何をしようと個人の自由だ」は４２％。他国平均は約８割なので極端に低い。

Such a survey, of course, cannot reveal all of the views and feelings of young people. But it is still troubling to know that only 46 percent of the Japanese respondents felt content with themselves, compared with more than 70 percent in each of the six other countries.
　調査で若者意識すべてをつかめるわけではないが、気になるのは「自分自身に満足している」と回答した人の割合が日本は４６％で最下位だったことだ。他の６カ国は７割を超える。

How should we feel about the unique fact that far fewer young Japanese are content with themselves than those who are proud of their country?
　日本人であることの誇りが、自分自身への満足を大きく上回るという日本だけのこの傾向をさて、どう考えたらいいのか。

The mind-set of children and young people of today offers hints about what is the invisible but prevailing mood in this society. There is no absolutely correct answer to the question. But we are tempted to think there is a strong undercurrent of a defeatist mentality symbolized by the Japanese word “dose” (anyway, in any case or after all) as used in such a sentence as “Dose dame da” (It's no use, anyway).
　いまを生きる子どもや若者の意識からは、目に見えない、この社会の「気分」を感じ取ることができる。正解はない。ただ、基調には「どうせ」が漂っているように思えてならない。

The survey found that just 62 percent of young Japanese had bright hopes for their future. Only 52 percent of the Japanese respondents were willing to tackle important challenges with enthusiasm even when success is not certain, while just 44 percent wanted to get involved in dealing with societal problems to make society better, according to the survey.
And only 30 percent of young Japanese said they think their participation may change even slightly the social phenomena they want improve. Japanese ranked at the bottom for all these questions.
　「自分の将来に明るい希望を持っている」（６２％）、「うまくいくかわからないことにも意欲的に取り組む」（５２％）、「社会をよりよくするため、社会における問題に関与したい」（４４％）、「私の参加により、変えてほしい社会現象が少し変えられるかもしれない」（３０％）。すべて日本が最下位だ。

“Dose” is a convenient word. If you don’t have high hopes, you can avoid disappointment. This can be described as a “happy” attitude toward life in this age of low economic growth.
　「どうせ」は便利だ。高望みしなければ、失望せずに済む。低成長時代に適合した、「幸せ」な生き方だとも言える。

If this “dose” mentality spreads, however, many people will view society, which they should shape themselves, as something that cannot be changed.
　だが、「どうせ」が広がると、本来は自分たちの手でかたちづくっていくはずの社会が、変わりようのない所与のものとして受けいれられてしまう。

By playing certain roles in society, people fulfill their desire to be recognized by others and have positive feelings about their lives. A society dominated by the “dose” mind-set probably cannot perform that function well.
　人は社会のなかで役割を担い、そのことを通じて人に認められたいという欲求を満たし、生きている実感を手にできる。「どうせ」な社会はおそらく、その機能を持ち得ないだろう。

The current situation in Japan poses a serious test of the ability of the more-experienced adults to reject this defeatist mentality. They shouldn’t refuse this challenge by saying, “Such a naive approach can make no difference, anyway.”
　「どうせ」なんかじゃない。
　彼らよりも長く生きている「大人」がそれを示せるかどうかが、まずは問われている。「そんなキレイゴトじゃ、どうせ何も変わらないんだよ」で、片付けてしまわずに。

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 17