In recent years, many problems have occurred in various parts of the world, employment is difficult, and young people have begun to give up love, marriage and children, work and buy houses.
These are becoming increasingly serious social problems in more and more countries.
Among the East Asian countries, Japan was the first to appear in these phenomena, and the typical representative of the above is Japan"Enlightenment Generation".
Japan's "Enlightenment Generation" is a social problem caused by the high youth unemployment rate that has risen sharply since 2010.
The "Satoru Generation" refers to the Japanese 20s and 30s in the 2010s.
They have a negative attitude towards everything, have no interest in things that are deemed unnecessary, and do not try things that seem reckless.
The term "Enlightenment Generation" is used on the Japanese InternetIt means that like enlightened monks, they have completely lost interest in wealth, fame, birth, etc., and live only in pursuit of the most basic desires.
"Enlightenment" comes from the meaning of "enlightenment", which means liberation.
They were born at the very beginning of Japan's economic recession and did not experience the life of the previous generation during the boom period.
By the time they reach adulthood, Japan's economy is becoming increasingly difficult, job opportunities have plummeted, and it is as difficult for young people to find a job as catching a star.
As a result, young Japanese people are beginning to give up looking for a job and learn to find satisfaction in reality.
In South Korea, there is a similar concept of "Generation M", which has been semi-abandoned due to global youth unemployment, which is similar to, but not identical, to the "Enlightenment Generation".
BecauseSouth Korea's Gen M has not completely given up hope, they increase their wealth through real estate, ** cryptocurrency investment, and do not shy away from risks,Compared with the Japanese "Satoru generation", they are more eager to improve.
But the Japanese "Enlightenment Generation" can be said to completely reject material things and are not interested in any of them.
Japan's "Satoru Generation" will not waste time and money by trying to get into a prestigious school.
Because they saw the previous generation of elite school graduates during the economic crisis of the 1980s and the collapse of the housing bubble in 1991, with low returns in society.
SoThey recognize that a diploma from a prestigious school does not guarantee an increase in socioeconomic status.
In the process, they lower their expectations, give up on higher education, and increase the number of young people working part-time to make ends meet near their hometowns.
They also don't like to work in big cities, because the competition in big cities is too fierce, the employment threshold is high, and it is not easy to find a job even if you submit dozens of resumes.
And they can be replaced at any time, so they are also at a higher risk of being fired.
The "Enlightenment Generation" is not interested in promotion, but will refuse responsibility, and some people will start to give up formal jobs.
If they become regular employees, they will need to take on more responsibilities and will not be able to take time off at will, so they prefer to continue to work part-time or informally.
In addition,All they have experienced since childhood is test-taking education and competition
The idea is ingrained in their minds that a single failure could ruin their lives
So this generation realized early on that the risk of starting to take risks but failing is not small.
Japan, like South Korea, is very difficult to start over after defeat, and failure is like death.
Coupled with the fact that they grew up in a family environment with a sluggish economy, they witnessed first-hand the struggle of the previous generation with the economic crisis and youth unemployment.
So risk avoidance is understandable to some extent.
The older generation felt that the "enlightened generation" lacked initiative and ability to resist pressure, but the young people asked rhetorically:Since I was asked to take risks and failed, can you take charge of my life?If you can't understand, give me money.
The "Wu Generation" is risk-averse, reluctant to leave their hometowns, and will go to a local university or junior college, and rely on part-time jobs to make a living after graduating from high school.
This is very different from the previous generation, who wanted to leave their hometown and develop in big cities such as Tokyo and Osaka.
Now they don't even think about studying or working abroad, even in the United States and Europe, which Japanese people aspire to.
They prefer to stay in Japan for life, content with Japanese culture and economy.
Japan's domestic market and culture are large enough that there is no need to look abroad for opportunities, and in recent years, the developed countries of the West have exposed all kinds of shortcomings, and it is no longer the ideal country that the Japanese aspire to.
So it is no longer necessary for them to pay attention to foreign cultures or the desire to go abroad.
In the midst of more than 30 years of economic recession, more and more young Japanese people have voluntarily given up their formal jobs and are choosing part-time jobs or entrepreneurship to make ends meet.
It has also become easy to become a new employee in their 30s, but some of them leave voluntarily.
This happens not only in unskilled labor, but in all walks of life.
In fact, the responsibilities of regular employees in Japan are likely to be more stringent than those of non-regular employees.
South Korea threatens employees with regularization, but Japan may be mistreating and squeezing out regular employees after regularization, forcing employees to leave their jobs voluntarily.
As a result, the "Enlightenment Generation" is more inclined to avoid formal employment.
However, this behavior backfired on them in the massive infectious disease epidemic of 2020.
Like other countries, Japanese companies are hiring more for part-time and short-term jobs.
The "Enlightenment Generation" who relied on these jobs for a living lost their livelihoods due to the increase in competitors and became recluses or vagabonds.
Before, they didn't buy a house, they relied on renting to live, and suddenly they lost their income and had nowhere to go. Because they grew up seeing that the previous generation was trapped by mortgages, they were reluctant to borrow money to buy a house.
"The Enlightenment generation also hates company culture and socializing. They refuse to socialize, or only participate in the first round and leave, unlike the values of the previous generation that are loyal to the company, thus leading to estrangement.
This generation is also smoking and drinking less, and some don't touch it at all. This is in stark contrast to the previous generation's reluctance to drink in order to fit in with the company culture, which is a good trend from a health perspective.
But this behavior of the "enlightenment generation" has eaten them up in the epidemic.
As in other countries, Japanese companies are hiring more part-time and short-term workers, and the "lying flat" youth who depend on these jobs for their livelihoods have lost their livelihoods due to the increase in competitors.
Many of them have become homeless or homeless.
The main reason why they become homeless is that the "Enlightenment Generation" does not like to buy a house, but chooses to live in a rented house.
Because they have heard too many stories of heavy mortgages since they were young.
So they have been renting and have not accumulated assets.
Suddenly they lose their income** and they lose their home.
The "Enlightenment Generation" doesn't like social culture and organizational culture, so they either don't attend company gatherings at all, or only attend the first round and leave, which is contrary to the values of the previous generation who are loyal to the company, thus creating a generation gap.
This generation is also declining in smoking and drinking, with many quitting smoking and drinking.
This is in stark contrast to the previous generation, which reluctantly smoked and drank in order to fit into the company culture, and is a good trend from a health perspective.
In general, the "Enlightenment Generation" has chosen a simple lifestyle by avoiding risks and excessive competition.
But this has created a double crisis for livelihoods and housing during the pandemic.
The choices of this generation reflect the inequality of opportunities in Japanese society, but also the growth of individualism and self-preservation.
But the consequences of excessive risk and liability avoidance are also worth reflecting on.
It is a social phenomenon with broad and complex implications.