Japan's transformation to joho-shakai advanced rapidly after 1970. The highly information-oriented society continues to be realized through the quickening of information management by computer and the development of diverse communication media. One of the main features of Japan's information orientation is that Japanese has made necessary a two-byte alphabet that is different from the one-byte alphabet. That requires a lot of effort to develop software, because of the necessity to have a lot of memory for managing information by computer. In Japan basic software known as TRON has been developed and there is even a plan to unify all information management systems with TRON. TRON has also caught international attention and is being adopted as a standard international communication language.
Tsukin-densha in large Japanese cities are notorious around the world for being terribly crowded. To solve the congestion, four-track lines have been laid, and each train car has been remodeled with more doors, but this has not resulted in fundamental improvement. Particularly in Tokyo, which is overpopulated, high land prices and the commuter rush hour have produced concrete discussions on moving the capital. The knack of riding the trains in Tokyo is surely to avoid rush hour.
Because Japan's railroads are highly developed, passenger car ownership is about one-fifth that of America. An overwhelming majority of people use the railroad for commuting and it is convenient. Accordingly, most people who have cars use them for leisure; during New Year, summer vacation and Golden Week,which is a series of consecutive holidays from the end of April to the beginning of May, highways everywhere are crowded. Perhaps because of the return-to-nature movement, recently recreational vehicles like the 4WD are more popular than sport cars.
Japan is the country with the longest life expectancy in today's world. On the other hand, with the birth rate dropping year by year, Japan has continued to become a koreika-shakai. The percentage of those above 65 in the population was 7.1%(9.9% in U.S.) in 1970 but rose to 12%(12.7% in U.S.) in 1990. Advanced countries have this same tendency, but, when compared to the United States, the speed of Japan's aging is faster. Moreover, when the populous postwar generation turns 60 in fewer than 15 years, it will be concerned about the issue of "pensions." At that time, if young people do not pay large sums into their retirement funds, there will be no pension allowances for the aged. Consequently, a lively debate about this is beginning, with people coming out against participation in pensions.
Traditionally, in Japan there were numerous practices of praying for and celebrating long life. Thus, many auspicious symbols are related to long life. Cranes and turtles are symbols of long life as can be seen in the saying, "Cranes live for 1,000 years, turtles live for 10,000 years," and a shrimp, lobster, or prawn with its curved tail likewise symbolizes long life. To share the joy of long life, a celebration is held at certain ages. Long life is first celebrated at age 60. This age is referred to as "kanreki," which means a return to one's original birth combination of the sexagenary cycle. On this date, children and grandchildren gather together and the whole family celebrates one's 60th birthday. Celebrations continue after age 60 at ages 70, 77, 80, 88, 90, 99, and 108. Each age respectively carries meaning related to the characters used to express the age or to historical facts.
Contemporary Japanese weddings are a mix of traditional and contemporary aspects and are carried out in a variety of ways.
There are the formal meeting with a view to marriage by which a go-between introduces the man and woman, and the betrothal presents, which are gifts of money and goods that the two families exchange as evidence that an engagement exists. There is also the exchanges of nuptial cups ritual during the marriage ceremony in which the bride and groom, using a set of three sake cups by turns, alternately drink sacred sake. These are traditional aspects. Holding the ceremony at a specialized wedding hall in accordance with Shinto, Buddhist or Christian rites and going on honeymoons are comparatively recent practices.
In kekkonshiki there are two essential elements; the ritual ceremony and the wedding reception. Large numbers of friends are invited to the wedding reception, which takes place in grand style at hotels.
As women proceed for higher education and society, the average age for the first marriage is becoming older. This kind of tendency is one of the reasons for the decrease in the birth rate.
According to the Japanese view of death from ancient times, one's time continues on even after death for a certain period. Moreover, spirits after death were considered to have the same personality as before death, received warm hospitality from their descendants, and later became gods and protect their descendants. When a close relative dies, people go into mourning and keep both mind and body clean for 49 days following the death. Subsequently, memorial services are held at each designated time, for instance, the first anniversary and the seventh anniversary, and the dead was thought to become a god and join the ancestors only after 33 to 50 years had passed. From the medieval times on, the influence of Buddhism has been strong, and a typical funeral today is to have a priest chant Buddhist sutras for a deceased, hold a wake on the following day, bid farewell to the deceased in a farewell service, and, after cremation, bury the remaining in a cemetery.