So people with alcoholic fathers tend not to drink or to maintain strict self-control when drinking. Even the way people gamble is changing. Sociable group games such as mah-jongg used to be popular, but now people prefer forms of gambling that they can engage in by themselves, such as pachinko. In this respect also, the nation is becoming like the United States. I prefer not to use it because almost any type of disorder can instantly be labeled stress.
Japan is the only country in the world to endow the word with so much credibility.
In certain respects, I regard addiction as a positive trait, a fuel to keep people going and energize their lives. But in the same way you might take your car for a drive with the sole purpose of filling it up at a particular gas station, addiction is a state in which you are driven by a desire to fulfill one particular aim. Addiction is a reversal of healthy aims. For example, some news reporters I know drink because they say it helps them to write good articles, loosening up the flow of words in their brain. Such a habit is not an addiction.