Japan's youths scorn social structures

Unwillingness to conform and even outright challenges to social structures such as schools and work have reached a dangerous level among the younger generations of Japanese.

The number of children skipping school has been on the increase, and many high school or university students are opting for hourly employment rather than salaried positions in companies.

According to a report issued on August 6 by the Japanese records and statistics office, the current number of university or high school students who have neither found employment nor gone on to higher education stands at 9.2% or 324,000 individuals, the highest ever. The employment rate for high school and university graduates are ate their lowest ever at 18.6% and 55.8% respectively.

The dominant analysis of the numbers points to changing attitudes among younger-generation Japanese toward work rather than the economic downturn. According to the analysis, the lack of work ethic and the dislike for structured work organizations have caused such trends as the younger generation seeking hourly jobs with greater flexibility in work schedules.

Considering Japan`s labor shortage among small and medium-sized businesses, such an analysis seems to be somewhat accurate.

Among elementary and middle school ages, the number of students who have missed 30 days or more attendance last year has increased 2% since the previous year and stood at 130,000 individuals, the highest ever.