<Doug Henwood>-----
> Reading all the press lately about "parasite teens" - the Japanese
> kids who live with their parents, scorn work, and spend $1,000 on
> small-run designer t-shirts - I was wondering: is this some version
> of the refusal of work so celebrated by autonomists? Is the long
> slump the country has been experiencing more the result of a
> breakdown of labor discipline than more conventional economic
> mechanisms?
>
> Doug
i leave the technical side of the reply to charles j. and i would like to make a few non economical comments on the issue. there is a new category of workers here, they are called 'freeta' short for 'free timers'. i think they largely overlap with the 'parasite teens' but they really seem to be a different phenomenon. 'parasite teen' does not seem to be a recognized category here while 'freeta' are the subjects of articles even in the specialized press.
to me both things are extensions of the traditional function of children in the household. even if they leave the family to go to university outside their prefecture a lot of daughters would go back home find a job and use their income as pocket money until they get married. sons are subjects to more expectations so they don't have to come back but eventually will stay with their parents if they do.
the economic crisis has exacerbated this model to the point that staying at home has started to become a solution to low income life. more and more young people consider the economic aspect of their choice when deciding to live with their parents (at least that's what they say, it may be a way to accept the tradition).the difference between the parasite teens and the freeta is here: the pt enjoys the loophole created by economic recession and tradition while the ft is trying to find a way out of that. pts eventually grow up but fts may well be stuck in low income unstable jobs (with related health insurance pbs etc).
btw, the meaning of 'freetimer' is: people who use their free time to work. funny isn't it ? ie they are not employed in a company so they have all the free time they want. but since they need income they have to work with the same status as normal students (part time jobs extended full time, or multiple part time, without the same benefits as a normal job). for some it is a choice, for others it is a necessity.
i leave the rest to charles.
jc helary