Staff writer

Japan enters the 21st century conflicted. After "an economic miracle," realizing a national goal of catching up with, and surpassing, the West and emerging as one of the world's economic powerhouses, the Japanese have every reason to look to the future with confidence. Yet a decade of stagnation has exposed every nerve end and magnified every failure. National leaders speak of the need for fundamental change, and make gestures in that direction. Resistance is strong, though. Calls for change are met with redoubled support for traditional solutions, while each action generates a conservative reaction.

If no clear picture emerges, it is because the Japanese themselves are confused. A recent study of public opinion by the Dentsu Institute for Human Studies reveals a profoundly ambivalent nation. At a critical point in their history, the Japanese have a high regard for many of the "defining values" of their society, even though they seem resigned to modifying and even abandoning them.