Japan's Lost Generation: The Silent Sufferers that Grew up in Post-Bubble Japan
Japan's Lost Generation: The Silent Sufferers that Grew up in Post-Bubble Japan
The children of the 1970s and 1980s facing adversity in post-bubble Japan
Japan's Lost Generation: The Silent Sufferers that Grew up in Post-Bubble Japan
In the 1980s, Japan was at the height of its economic prosperity, with a booming stock market and sky-high real estate values. But when all of this came to a screeching halt in the early 1990s and the "bubble economy" burst, the aftermath for the young people entering the workforce was devastating…
This generation have come to be known as Japan’s "Lost Generation" or “Ice Age Generation”, consisting of individuals in their late 30s to early 50s. They are one of the most educated and hard-working in Japanese history and as they got a glimpse of Japan’s bubble economy, they often had high hopes for their futures and believed that their hard work and dedication would pay off.
But instead, they found themselves facing a tough job market and a lack of job security. Many new graduates were unable to find work in their field, and others were forced to take low-paying, menial jobs just to make ends meet.
The impact of Japan's financial turmoil following the burst of the economic bubble has hit this generation the hardest.
In fact, it was hit so severely that it has given rise to numerous subgroups of despair: There are NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training), individuals who have given on the job market entirely, or the Freeters, people who have given up on stable careers and settle for low-paid temporary and part-time jobs. And perhaps the saddest of them, the Hikikomori (引きこもり), individuals who withdraw from social life and become reclusive, often isolating themselves in their homes for months, years or sometimes their entire lives.
Groups like these do exist in various countries across the globe. However, prior to the bubble-bust, Japan was considered a thriving economy, boasting nearly 100% employment. The aftermath of the bubble saw a rapid increase in the number of these groups in Japanese society, shedding light on the far-reaching consequences of economic instability.
The Tragic Fallout of Japan's Graduate Degree Policies
The situation was perhaps worst for those who took out big loans to achieve higher education.
You see, in the late 90s, the Japanese government started to introduce policies to promote graduate degrees.
These policies were an attempt to postpone graduation for people who risked graduating into Japan’s worst economic recession and make them more attractive on the job market once the economy had recovered. As we know now, any real recovery took much longer than any policymaker had anticipated and most of these graduate students came out of university even more unemployable due to their degree preventing them for being employed for trainee or internship roles.
This policy created a surplus of highly skilled people in Japan’s relatively lackluster research field, where even the most highly regarded researchers were given part-time and underpaid positions.
A tragic example of the consequences of these policies is Dr. Rei Nishimura, a true standout in her field of Japanese Buddhism. She received her Ph.D. in literature in 2004 and was selected as a research fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science the following year. Her hard work and dedication to her studies paid off, as she received a series of awards for young researchers in 2009.
But despite her impressive accomplishments, Dr. Nishimura's life was far from easy. After her three-year term as a postdoctoral researcher ended, she found herself in financial distress, relying on her parents for food, clothing, and shelter. Despite applying to over 20 universities for research positions, her applications were rejected, with some even returned without being read.
Desperate for stability and security, Dr. Nishimura married a man she met online in an attempt to improve her situation. But their life together soon fell apart, and she became mentally ill, blaming herself for her failed career and the failed relationship. On the same day she filed for divorce, Dr. Nishimura took her own life…
Her father, who is now 84 years old, spoke out about the tragedy, saying:
"Today's universities are not looking for intelligence, but rather easy-to-use labor. Rei became far too aware of that." (Asahi Shimbun, 2019).
The “Lost Generation” Might be Less Lost than we Think
However, it's also important to recognize the many accomplishments and successes of this generation. Despite the odds, many have found fulfilling careers, with Japan still boasting one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world.
From tech giants like SoftBank to cultural icons like Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, this generation has produced some of the most influential and successful people and companies of our time.
While it may be tempting to dwell on the difficulties faced by this generation, it's also important to take a step back and acknowledge their perseverance and resilience in the face of adversity.
The lessons from the "Lost Generation" are particularly important for Japan, a country that has faced numerous economic and societal challenges in recent years. As a society, Japan has always placed a strong emphasis on education, hard work, and perseverance, and the struggles of the "Lost Generation" have highlighted the need to provide young people with the opportunities and support they need to thrive.
As Japan looks to the future, it is crucial that the lessons learned from the "Lost Generation" are taken into account. By investing in education and innovation, providing opportunities for young people, and supporting their entrepreneurial spirit, Japan can ensure that the next generation has the tools they need to succeed and create a better future.
In short, the "Lost Generation" has left a profound impact on Japan and the world, serving as a reminder of the importance of resilience, perseverance, and the need to provide opportunities and support to young people. By taking these lessons to heart, we can create a brighter future for ourselves and for Japan.
As a member of this Lost Generation, I appreciate this post. Particularly the tragic story of Ryo (her name is irregular) Nishimura. It's depressing seeing how corporate life has no opening for people like her, who, even if they want to leave academia and get regular jobs, can't even get entry level positions because they're the "wrong" age, have degrees that are too advanced, et cetera.
I attended grad school here. Worked an odd shift, had afternoons free, so I looked into a grad program (in a humanities subject I had wanted to go into more deeply in undergrad and couldn't) at a top national university, and got in.
I never had any expectations that it would lead to career success, and enjoyed my studies and research for their own sake. I would have enjoyed them more if society didn't continue pretending that having such a degree automatically meant riches and respect when only a tiny fraction of graduates will ever get those things.
My department had six seats open each year for their master's program, and the year I applied, I was the only one accepted. At the time I ascribed the lack of applicants to the declining birth rate, and was happy to have gotten in, but later I began to think the opposite: "Everyone else was smart enough to know that grad school offers you no opportunities, hurts your career prospects by making your personal history so irregular, and will guarantee that you're seen as an underachiever by society. I'm not one of the smartest; I'm one of the dumbest."
Compared to my academic friends, I'm downright lucky to have kept my boring office job all these years, continuing to make a salary close to the national average, and I keep my grad school degrees a secret in the workplace. I'm still very glad I did it, but if I had it to do over, I would have been much more careful about talking about it in public.
Society has been really slow to pick up on how much harder times are now, and continues to shame people for not being as successful as pretending not to notice that it takes a lot more effort that it once did to avoid becoming a member of the "precarious" working poor. There's still a lot of shaming coming from the top 10-20% toward anyone who hasn't had the success that they take for granted.
Would you be able to recommend any books/memoirs about the culture of Japan during the late 1980s? Most of the tracts I've found have been business books, very abstract and impersonal.