What era the 100 years of the 20th century was, what the people living in that era was like, or what was their view of humanity might be a question yet to be answered through many years to come by people of the future. However, what is the major difference between the era of the 100 years of the 20th century and that of the 21st century is relatively an easy question for me to answer as far as Japan is concerned. I think the 20th century was generally an era of growth and development. The people living in the era thought that growth and development was a matter of course, and thus always expected it, believed in it, and were never disappointed. While various analyses were made for the era, and various studies were made on the humanity, society, and pathological characteristics of the era, the analyses and studies were all based on the assumption that the society would continue to grow and develop. In contrast, the 21st century is witnessing the structural contradictions that had accumulated in the social system of the 20th century and just surfaced recently. It is experiencing a significant transition from growth and development to recession and disappearance. It might be an era for Japan to keep struggling for coping with the prolonged hard times. But, saying this, I'm not repeating here the old and superficial notion that the myth of Japan's continuous growth had collapsed, which was much reiterated at the times of economic recession right after the blowing of the bubble economy. In this symposium, I'm not proposing a self-satisfied, childish remedy to the difficult times, but providing a chance to discuss about the humanity and society of the 21st century by introducing a long-term population forecast and by focusing on inter-generation relationship.
