However, all success is conditional on prevailing circumstances, and if circumstances change, so reform must once again happen. Making Affluence a Reality in the Lifestyle of the Japanese People Japan now has fifty post-war years behind her, and the Japanese people now desire to consolidate the affluence created in that period. Working Japanese want a greater choice of working lifestyle. As a result of the changes affecting the Japanese employment system, companies are finding it more difficult to provide employees with the promotions and rising salaries that they have come to expect. There is an increasing gap between what companies want from individuals and what individuals want from their companies.
Women also are able to choose between a greater variety of lifestyles.
It was once far more difficult for a woman to choose an unmarried lifestyle. In contrast, many now face a realistic choice between staying at home and going out to work. All in all, the changing circumstances of the Japanese employment system should mean that a greater variety of lifestyles open up to a greater variety of individuals. Children and young Japanese likewise desire a greater choice of lifestyle, and that too is becoming a possibility. The increasing participation of young Japanese in volunteer activities is proof of the greater choice they now have, and testifies also to the remarkable reserves of energy that they possess.