Goodbye, Confucius

Judging from a recent poll of the attitudes of youths aged 18 to 24, Confucius has just about had it in Japan, where his precepts have prevailed for centuries. Confucius may say respect your elders, obey the magistrate and do unto others, etc., but young Japanese seem too preoccupied with taking over university buildings and fashioning Molotov cocktails to pay him much heed. The poll, directed by Prime Minister Eisaku Sato's office and involving 3,400 youths, reported that:

> Fully 80% of those polled would not yield their seats on trains or buses to older persons.

> Only 39% believed that laws should be obeyed without question. Another 34% criticized the injustice of some laws but cautiously agreed that it pays not to violate them anyway. The other answers were split between those who recommended ignoring the law because it does not seem to relate to their daily lives and those who felt it serves only the interests of their elders and the ruling class.

> Only 40% of those polled were in favor of respecting the freedom and rights of others. The majority either opposed such niceties or had no opinion. So much for the Golden Rule.

Plainly, many of Japan's young people are headed for a break with some of the nation's most cherished traditions. Even the rebels, however, seem to suffer from a problem that handicapped their fathers: the inability to express opposition individually and in specific terms. A professor at Kyoto University recalled last week that when he invited individual students to challenge his statements or actions in the classroom, they would stand in tense and painful silence. When the students came to him in a group to scream their demands for reform, however, they were magically transformed. "Then," says the professor, "they would make no bones about calling me an idiot."

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