There are hundreds, if not thousands, of potential (killers) in Japan today like the 25-year-old who ran amok with a knife in Tokyo's Akihabara district June 8. It is high time that we stop ignoring the problem: Japanese children and young adults have reached the edge of mental breakdown.
The Japanese, especially those who live in big cities, spend their childhood and teenage years under near-constant mental stress: the anguish of the dreaded high school examination, which pretty much determines the course of one's entire life at the tender age of 15; the fear of the university entrance examination; and the shame that failure brings upon a family.
Whatever remaining free time that kids might enjoy just being kids is taken away from them as parents' pride and the country's antiquated education system land them into exhausting after-school, and sometimes weekend, cram school sessions. It's one emotional burden after another. And we're just talking about the kids who grow up "normally." Imagine the hell endured by those who spend their young years bullied at school.
And all this for what? To be generally dismissed by mighty elder Japanese as worthless "freeters" just because they're unable to find a steady job after graduating from university, or because they refuse to spend their life toiling as overworked salarymen or underpaid office ladies? They are told that pension records are missing or lost, and that money will be automatically deducted from their retirement to pay for health care.
Is it a surprise to anyone, then, that thousands of young Japanese choose to alienate themselves in videogame centers and online meeting groups? There is no system in place to help them achieve their dreams and be successful.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.