Japanese people have become more kojinshugi (個人主義, individualistic) and aware of their personal identities than they were 20 years ago, according to recent media reports. True, members of the younger generation have no problem addressing each other by first name (and this happens even among casual acquaintances) instead of sticking the reverent "san" (さん) at the end of the surname, and many avoid the use of keigo (敬語, formal speech) when speaking to elders — claiming it to be unnecessary semantic window-dressing.
Hadaka no tsukiai (裸のつきあい, a naked relationship, or tell-all/reveal-all relationship) and honne no kankei (本音の関係, brutally honest interaction) are phrases often bandied about; it seems there's a genuine desire to dispense with formalities and get to the basics of ningen kankei (人間関係, human relations).
On the other hand, some things never change. Even as we get better at friendship and camaraderie, or master the art of crossing generations in a single leap, many of us are bad at other stuff — namely the male-female relationship.