AGE, SEX AND COHORT: EXPLICATING SOCIAL CHANGE IN POST-WAR JAPAN

Abstract

This paper presented the results from our analysis of three items in the National Character Survey. Since we were in possession of time-series data covering a twenty-five year period, we sought both to highlight the changes in attitudes which have taken place in post-war Japan, and to offer some insight into the processes producing these shifts. 1) Major shifts in attitudes have taken place among Japanese adults. Our analysis suggests that these shifts are not due solely to the process of population replacement. Even past their formative years, individuals change their views, and often quite rapidly. 2) Shifts in attitudes in different areas are not always synchronous. Not surprisingly, the impact of social, economic, and political developments is not uniform across different attitudinal areas. 3) There are important attitudinal cleavages among Japanese. The most notable among these cleavages is one based on sex.