单项选择题
| Japan is going through a complex
national identity crisis. That may be no bad thing, says a new book by an
American researcher. The economy is ceased making progress, but the society is
in motion. Japan is a difficult country to report on and analyze because things
do not change in big, noticeable ways. They change in an increasing process,
generally of small steps but which, over time, can add up to big movements. And
just such a big movement seems to be taking place. Mr. Nathan has been observing Japan since the 1960s. Whereas most people look at economic data or the comings and goings of prime ministers, he is more interested in schools, novels, comic books, and the minds of young entrepreneurs and maverick (持不同意见的) local politicians. In particular, his focus is on whether Japan’s famously cohesive, conformist society may be breaking under the strain of economic stagnation (停滞), and on how such strains have been affecting the country’s sense of purpose and of national identity. Fractures arc what he looks for and fractures are what he finds. On balance, they are neither obviously dangerous nor obviously positive, but they are, as he says, signs of motion which could, in time, lead in unpredictable directions. The most worrying fractures he writes about are in the schools where violence and truancy (逃学) have risen remarkably. Old Japan hands shrug wearily at such things, for worries about bullying (暴力行为) have long existed but have never really seemed terribly serious. Now, though, Mr. Nathan’s numbers do make the situation look grave. Such trends appear to be symptoms of two related phenomena: a widespread feeling of disillusionment, alienation, uncertainty or plain anger, which has spread to children, too; and a gradual breakdown of old systems of discipline--part familial, part social, part legal which, appear to prevent schools and parents from dealing effectively with errant children. Japan is, in short, passing through a national identity crisis. However, there are plenty of positive aspects to it, too. One is a considerable increase in the number of actual or budding young entrepreneurs. The numbers remain modest, but are nevertheless surprisingly high given the state of the economy in recent years. Another is a new eagerness among popular writers and maverick politicians to try to define and encourage a new national pride. |