Disasters elicit activism among Japan's youth

The children of Japan's "lost decade" — now in their 20s and 30s — have been accused of being lazy and self-centered, but experts say that the disasters of the earthquake and tsunami have mobilized them. "What we've seen in the last decade is a lot of isolationism and withdrawal, even self-indulgence among young people," said Kyle Cleveland, associate professor of sociology at Temple University, Japan Campus. "I think the earthquake is the death knell to all that. A lot of people are going to be emotionally invested in this in a way they never were before."
May 8, 2011 | Philadelphia Inquirer