英字新聞

January 19, 2014(Mainichi Japan)
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Time for young people to take center stage
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:「ポスト定年世代」考える　／東京

While there are still a few days left until the campaign for the Feb. 9 Tokyo gubernatorial election kicks off on Jan. 23, so far candidates who are 65 or older are getting all the attention. Some candidates are in their 70s and 80s. If they worked at a private company, they would have been retired a long time ago.
　東京都知事選が行われる。２３日の告示まではまだ間があるが、現時点で立候補意思を示したり、話題になったりしている人たちの中心は６５歳以上。７０代や８０代の人もいる。会社勤めならとっくに定年退職しているはずの年齢だ。

Just as I was watching TV during the New Year holiday, former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and Yomiuri Shimbun Chairman Tsuneo Watanabe appeared on the air, discussing various issues Japan is facing. They are 95 and 87, respectively. Although they are considered conservatives, their strong passion for international cooperation and world peace made their points very convincing.
　新年にテレビを見ていたら中曽根康弘氏と渡辺恒雄氏の対談番組を放映していたが、このお二人は９５歳と８７歳だ。保守派といわれる方々だが、国際協調や平和に対しての強い思いがあり、発言には強い説得力があった。

Meanwhile, the young, from those in their teens to their 30s, claim that they keep getting a bad deal in life because they were born in the midst of the decades-long recession. They also have to face problems with the aging population and declining birth rate. People in this age group might not have a guaranteed pension and it's hard for them to climb up the corporate ladder because the older executives remain in power. Some even struggle to find regular full-time employment. The young sometimes slam the older generation for "hanging onto their vested interests."
　１０代から３０代の若い世代は、自分たちは不況が始まってから生まれ、少子高齢化のあおりも受け、損ばかりしていると言う。年金も受給できる保証がないし、組織の重要なポストにも年配者が居座って、なかなか自分たちにチャンスが回ってこない。それどころか、正社員の仕事さえ見つけるのが難しい。若者は、上の世代のことを「既得権益にすがる老害」などと呼ぶこともある。

However, when opportunities rise, those in post-retirement age are usually the ones who raise their hands to do the job. Some might argue that young people don't have opportunities, but I often hear people say things like, "The person in their 30s I asked to take the director position firmly declined my offer" and "Nobody raised their hands to serve as the chair when we invited applicants among the young."
　しかし、いざとなると「よっしゃ、私が」と出てくるのは、結局のところ“ポスト定年世代”。若い人には声がかからないからだ、と言う人もいるが、あちこちから「３０代の人に組織の代表を、と依頼したけれど固辞された」「下の世代から委員長を募ったけれど、手が上がらなかった」といった声が聞こえてくる。

The younger generation may have sensed from the massive volume of information they have access to that responsible positions are not worth it. Some think that they don't want to fail and embarrass themselves and some might value freedom over a career or social status.
　責任ある立場についても「労多くして実り少なし」なのではないか、ということが情報量の多い若い人たちには読めているのかもしれない。「失敗して恥をかきたくない」「地位よりも自由がほしい」と思っている人もいるのだろう。

Nevertheless, it's sad that every time something big happens, we see the older generation on center stage.
とはいえ、いつまでも「何かがあると表に出てくるのは６５歳以上」ではあまりにも寂しい。

As I was rambling on about such a cultural environment to my friends, they asked me, "Wait, what about your generation that falls in between the old and young?"
　そんなことを知人に話したら、「ちょっと待って。若者が表に出てこないと言う前に、間の世代に当たるあなたたちはどうなの」と言われた。

Indeed. We haven't seen people in my age group, in their 50s, or those in their 40s, who are eager to take responsibility for society since Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto emerged on the scene.
確かに、私のような５０代やすぐ下の４０代からも、考えてみれば橋下徹大阪市長以降、「社会を背負って立つ」と意気込むリーダーが出てきていない。

I wonder if we, under the age of 60, would become interested in standing up and taking action after we hit that age where we are free from roles in an organizational structure, or if we would continue to hesitate to take center stage no matter how old we become.
　“アンダー６０”の私たちも組織での役割から解放される年代になれば、「私がひと肌脱ごう」と立ち上がるのだろうか。それとも、幾つになっても、「いや、私は矢面には立ちたくないんで」と尻込みし続けるのだろうか。

In any case, we need to think about what we should do to change the cultural tendency where people rely on the post-retirement age group to take on responsible jobs.
いずれにしても「責任ある役割は、ポスト定年世代にお任せ」という風潮をどこかで変えるためには何をすべきかについても、私たちはもっと考えていく必要があるようだ。

〔都内版〕

(By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
毎日新聞　2014年01月14日　地方版