Abstract
In 2006 the term spiritual was extremely popular on Japanese television. The paranormal entertainment culture that had demonstrated a decline following the incidents concerning AUM Shinrikyo in 1995 regained opularity. In the background of this cultural popularity, however, was the emergence of a spiritual phenomenon over a much longer time span. If this may be called the New Spirituality Culture, it had already shown signs of emerging in the 1970s. At the time there was a pronounced desire for a utopian future in the culture mainly borne by the young, and this trend expanded in its social support base to permeate all levels of society. The field of care is representative of this, and the need for spirituality within all systems inclusive of medical care, education, and psychotherapy was recognized. In the background were the social circumstances of increased possibilities for encountering difficult problems within the dismemberment of communities and isolation of individuals. Put differently, the life collectivity of individuals became less robust. Such threats to life were felt to be brought on by modern civilization, and awareness of the limitations of modern civilization increased. Simultaneously, people's expectation towards religion increased, but in the developed countries the trend was to expect more of spirituality than of religions. It is important to understand the increasing interest in the field of terminal care within such trend.
