This 21st-Century Japan, More Contented Than Driven
By NORIMITSU ONISHI

Many Americans — reared in a nation whose identity is inseparable from its No. 1 status — find it hard to grasp why there is not greater unhappiness in Japan, which fell from such heights and has yet to pull itself decisively out of the slump. But Japan has now grown into a mature society that is trying to forge forward with its own standards.

Hidehiko Sekizawa, executive director of the Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living, conducts a comprehensive survey on attitudes toward life every two years. His findings show that people are focusing on enjoying life and are happy despite the long slump.

There is strong nostalgia nowadays for the Edo Period, the feudal era preceding the last century and a half of rapid change. While the Edo Period had many social problems, people are now remembering it as a time of stability and great cultural vitality.

"People want to return to an era where life was perceived to be more enjoyable," Mr. Sekizawa said.

The feeling is noticeably strong among the young. If the icon of the 1980's was the "salaryman" who sacrificed his private life for his company, today's icon is the "freeter" — the young Japanese who take odd jobs to make just enough money to enjoy their personal interests or choose their way of life. The stress of competing inside Japan, let alone as part of a country competing against a visibly, and to some, frighteningly, hungry China, is furthest from their minds.