This is the final article of a 10-part series on contemporary Japan.
When I first arrived in Japan in 1967, the Japanese were in the throes of an obsession. This was an obsession with change. The Japanese economy was about to be confirmed as the world's second largest. New models of cars and appliances were greeted by the populace with a craving interest. Japanese businessmen returning from stints overseas were implored by their compatriots to comment on the upgraded affluence that had overtaken the country in their absence.
A Japanese journalist eagerly asked me just such a question in my early days here. "Japan has really changed, hasn't it?"