In recent years, the transition process from adolescence to adulthood has become much longer than it was once assumed, and this prolonged process has created a new stage in life course. This new stage can be termed 'post-adolescence'. In life course studies, this transitional stage is traditionally known as the period when 'the process of transition from adolescence to adulthood occurs'. The patterns of the transition differ according to the system and structure as well as customs and culture of society. While industries and economy grew steadily, the transition from childhood to adulthood was seen as one continuous change. Since the 1980's however, not only has the period of transition become longer, but also its patterns have altered from 'linear transition' in which the changes were step-by-step, direct movement toward the goal, to ones that are more complex and 'zigzagging'. Thus we saw the emergence of transition patterns that were individualised, diversified and changeable. At the end of the 1970's, it was recognised in the West that unemployment was an indication that adolescence itself was changing, and since then a number of policies have been set up to tackle the problems accordingly. Recent policies in EU countries can be seen as evidence of the responsibilities felt by governments. Nevertheless, a number of questions of what should be done and who is to take responsibility for the financial demands caused by the prolonged transition process still remain to be answered. Many of those who are concerned have expressed strong doubts for the call for extended parental responsibility. Youth unemployment in Japan did not occur until the late 1990's due to the extreme shortage of a young workforce during the economic boom of the early 1990's. Consequently, with a fall in the birth rate caused by people not marry until they were much older, the changes in the transition process were only felt in Japan now, 20 years after the phenomenon was first recognised in the West. Some of the problems are common both to Japan and EU countries but some differ considerably. One of the most significant characteristics in Japan is the fact that financial responsibilities for young people are almost entirely borne by their family, whereas in the West, various benefits are available that are funded by governments or other relevant organisations. As more young people go on to higher education and heavier financial burden of education falls on their family, the awareness of the family being an economic unit has been significantly reinforced. The result of this social change manifests financial dependency and delayed independence, the parents' sense of responsibility for finding employment for their children and their feeling of guilt when they fail. In such circumstances, the young people who are most at risk are similar types to those who become socially deprived in the UK. On the other hand, the financial problems of young people in Japan have been concealed by their prolonged dependency on parents, and the serious effect on young people was not recognised for a long time. Even now, it is far from easy to have a clear picture of where the families who are unable to support their grown up children exist, and to what extent. Consequently, whereas it is regarded as a social problem in the West, the Japanese tend to see the phenomenon as the 'normal young people' (i.e. not deprived in any way) becoming less capable. Thus the general public is more concerned with young people's lack of aspiration and independence, and with their attitude to work. This could lead to a moral argument such as the need to tell them to 'pull their socks up', and the real argument of how the change in social structure has caused such strong dependency in young people could easily be ignored. To conclude, I would like to suggest
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