Lost in Transition: Youth, Work, and Instability in Postindustrial Japan

by Mary C. Brinton

Lost in Transition tells the story of the “lost generation” that came of age in Japan’s deep economic recession in the 1990s. The book argues that Japan is in the midst of profound changes that have had an especially strong impact on the young generation. The country’s renowned “permanent employment system” has unraveled for young workers, only to be replaced by temporary and insecure forms of employment. The much-admired system of moving young people smoothly from school to work has frayed. The book argues that these changes in the very fabric of Japanese postwar institutions have loosened young people’s attachment to school as the launching pad into the world of work and loosened their attachment to the workplace as a source of identity and security. The implications for the future of Japanese society – and the fault lines within it – loom large.

Genres: Nonfiction, Japan

228 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2006

About the author

Professor Mary Brinton is the Reischauer Institute Professor of Sociology at Harvard University and the Department Chair. Brinton is a Faculty Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and a member of the Executive Committee of the Reischauer Institute for Japanese Studies.

Reviews

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a pretty fascinating follow-up to "Coming of Age in America." Brinton explores the transition to adulthood among Japanese youth, and the similarities and differences between what's going on in Japan and the United States are super interesting. While, in some parts of the U.S., "drifting" among youth isn't viewed as too problematic, or is at least gaining more acceptance, it's a much larger issue in Japan. There's a strong relationship between many high schools and workplaces, and basically, for non-university-bound teenagers, the high school takes care of job placement, and, more often than not, this ends up being a person's industry for life. The importance of "ba," or "social location," is much more significant in Japan than in the United States; Japanese heavily identify with their position within an institution and/or society in general. For example, as one classmate put it, in Japan, it's not enough to say "I'm a grad student;" you have to identify your "ba" and instead, introduce yourself as "a grad student at Teachers College" ("which, by the way, is affiliated with the more widely recognized and revered Columbia University"). So, in the postindustrial years, when jobs were scarcer, the number of Japanese drifters increased - a huge problem, as these folk were essentially ba-less.

As I was reading Brinton's book, for the first half of so, I continued to be fascinated by how different the transition to adulthood in Japan seemed, but then I started to think, is "ba" really so foreign a concept? The extent of its prominence in an individual's identity may differ between the countries, but I'd say a lot of Americans (adults and "emerging adults" are very aware of their own social location and institutional affiliation, and, as in Japan, feel very lost without one. [Caveat: Brinton explains that "ba" is difficult to translate, but "social location" is the overall gist.]

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up after reading an article in the Atlantic about the recession in Japan in the '90s and how the fallout of this affected young adults, drawing a comparison to the current situation in the United States. Although this book is well-researched and has plenty of information about the impact in Japan, it was pretty slow reading, and not something I would recommend as a general overview. Better suited for those whose area of study or particular focus is on this topic.

[John Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, data and research based insights into high-school graduates' job seeking in contemporary Japan. Rich with detail and evidence. I heartily recommend this book for people living in Japan, especially those working in education or with young people. It gives a framework and explanation for many phenomenon we notice daily.
The book is very well researched, focuses especially on the Kanagawa area, and gives a clear picture of the changing nature of recruitment in Japan since the bursting of the bubble economy.
For me, it was also an education in the close links between high schools and the employers of high school graduates, and went a long way to explain young people (especially young men's) attitude to school and work.
The writing style is academic, mainly clear because of the good organization, though often clunky in sentence construction. This distracts attention away from the message. For example: "an open and flexible labor market necessitates attitudes and predispositions on the part of workers that are strikingly different than what Japan's segmented labor market has heretofore required of individuals." [page 169]

[Felipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information, with a nice bit of hope at the end after a series of dire statistics. A bit dry, but then again, I'm not a sociologist for a reason.

(I do still chafe at the title as related to the content. I don't mind her focus on young men specifically, nor do I doubt the necessity of her doing so, but I DO mind the fact that you can say "youth" and mean "men" and that's still totally okay. Sigh.)