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Hayao Miyazaki on modern youth and Japan

Roland Kelts, who wrote 'Japanamerica', recalls a chat with Hayao Miyazaki where the topic of modern youth came up. Miyazaki's take was that they're just watching movies and pulling everything from virtual worlds. Smartphones all day, video games, nothing done for real, so no contact with other human beings, he said. Then roughly 10 minutes into that same conversation he flipped it: ah, old people are always complaining about the young. Don't listen to me, I'm a fool, he added, and Kelts notes it as self-deprecation. Worth pairing that with what's happening in Japan itself. Rural areas are losing residents, the towns are draining, and the young all head to Tokyo. And young Japanese are reportedly drifting from the ethical guides that historically kept the society stable.

4d

aoi lara@aoi_anime_op30

Follow

Hayao Miyazaki on modern youth and Japan

Roland Kelts, who wrote 'Japanamerica', recalls a chat with Hayao Miyazaki where the topic of modern youth came up. Miyazaki's take was that they're just watching movies and pulling everything from virtual worlds. Smartphones all day, video games, nothing done for real, so no contact with other human beings, he said. Then roughly 10 minutes into that same conversation he flipped it: ah, old people are always complaining about the young. Don't listen to me, I'm a fool, he added, and Kelts notes it as self-deprecation. Worth pairing that with what's happening in Japan itself. Rural areas are losing residents, the towns are draining, and the young all head to Tokyo. And young Japanese are reportedly drifting from the ethical guides that historically kept the society stable.

4d