As the year 2010 approaches its end, if I were to express the mood of today's Japanese nation in color it would be gray bordering on charcoal.
However, as I go about giving talks on contemporary Japan in this country and overseas, the audiences, who are generally well aware of the situation here, tend to color that mood in a darker shade — one akin to black.
There is no doubt that a sweeping pessimism rules the land. The reasons for this are clear.