[Data] What Future Concerns Young People?

However, what actually scored higher than that was anxiety about the future of "Japan." If I were to speculate about what might be going through their minds: They feel anxious about their own future, but they probably think they can manage it somehow on their own. More than that, though, they feel anxious about Japan's future... They can't find answers by Googling it*, and the issue is too big to know what to do about it. Ah, just a vague sense of unease... That might be how it feels.

＊Searching on Google. Once youth slang, now commonplace.

 

※Since the scores in the chart are rounded to the second decimal place, the total may not add up to 100%.

 

Women in their 20s worried about retirement?

We further broke down these anxieties by life stage and age group. When asked specifically about current "worries," high school students cited "entrance exams/advancing to higher education" (51.9%), university students "employment" (60.3%), and working adults "money" (59.3%) as their top concerns. While it's natural for primary anxieties to shift as life stages progress, the persistence of money and job worries from a young age reflects a current trend.

What's noteworthy is the shift in concerns for women in their 20s. Analyzing by one-year increments revealed that from the early to late 20s, the score for "marriage" gradually increases, while "retirement life" also shows a rise. Worrying about retirement now? That sounds ridiculous... you might think. Yet, around age 27, it surpasses anxiety about "work."

If I were to speculate about their thoughts, perhaps in their late 20s, after working hard, they start wondering: "Can I even get married? If I stay single, I'll need to buy an apartment, which means I'll have to support myself in retirement... so I need to save." I don't know if they actually think that far ahead, but you can sense a bit of inner conflict. Conversely, men show little change in their concerns with age. Is this a universal anxiety, or are they just more optimistic...?

While not a Wakamon survey, the Cabinet Office's " Public Opinion Survey on National Life (FY2014)" also shows this. When asked whether they want to focus on preparing for the future through savings and investments or on enriching and enjoying daily life, those in their 20s prioritize "preparing for the future," with a higher percentage than other age groups.

Young people today, raised in an era of low economic growth, have a stronger tendency to seek stability over risk compared to younger generations in the past, and this trend is evident in the data. They don't know what a booming economy feels like, and they probably don't think things will get better in the future. Could it be that today's youth are simply becoming pessimistic?

 

Capture the positive mindset of university students!

They simply don't know the "good old days"; the present is their reality. When asked about social consciousness—whether their generation should lead and drive society forward or if older generations should take the lead—58.0% overall chose the former, with male university students showing a particularly high score of 68.6%.

Young people are often portrayed negatively with phrases like "These days' youth..." highlighting their passive or pessimistic sides. While this response might not reflect a fiercely proactive mindset, even if it's more of a "Well, what can you do? Let's do it!" attitude, capturing that positivity might be the role of today's adults.