Second of two parts
Every five years for more than half a century, The Institute of Statistical Mathematics has conducted its Nihonjin no Kokuminsei Chosa (Survey of Japanese National Character) to study and analyze the values, opinions and lifestyle choices of Japanese people as they change from generation to generation.
Last week in Counterpoint I discussed some of those values, opinions and choices from the 1980s, the peak period of Japan's so-called bubble economy. During that decade — as the survey showed — confidence in the strength of the national economy was at a peak.