Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the manner in which the psychological concept of “moratorium” is used within the Japanese discourse on youth. In recent years, the general discourse in Japan on youth has been criticized for being non-empirical. However, even though this discourse is not based on empirical data, it still contains a certain authenticity and it is accepted as authentic by the general public. I present a conceptual analysis of the psychological concept of “moratorium” in order to describe the nature of this authenticity.
