Beyond Traditional Careers: My Childhood Aspirations vs Japanese Youth Aspirations

Cultural Exchange and Evolving Aspirations

As foreign students, we were often invited to elementary and high schools to interact with the Japanese students in cultural exchange programs. We would present something about our home countries and in turn the students would showcase something about their school work or Japanese culture. Sometimes, we had time to freely talk was a way to practice their English. Often, we would ask what they wanted to become. Few mentioned traditional roles like Engineer, doctor, many would talk of more contemporary roles like anime designer, footballer, content creator, or chef. Many typical African parents would be taken aback by such responses, so would many immigrant parents especially those of Asian descent.

As assistant teacher of English for an after-school program, I often interacted with an 11-year-old boy who wished to be a dancer at Universal Studios, Japan (USJ). Every opportunity he got, he was either dancing or watching choreography on YouTube. He worked hard in my class and it seems he was doing well in school, meaning he had the capacity to join a "traditional career path". Therefore, I wondered why he didn’t have “big audacious dreams” I had at his age or those some of his friends had. When I asked the program’s owner, I was informed that many youth in Japan are not keen on traditional career routes. They often cite a desire to have a better work-life balance, flexibility, and pursuit of personal interests. Others dislike the strictness that comes with being a “salaryman” and the lack of diverse mindsets in the traditional workplaces.

Growing up: Kampala vs Japanese Cities

When I compare and contrast my upbringing with that of teenagers and youth in Japan today, I understand their sentiments. Growing up, our parents would take us to Najjanankumbi for medical attention all the way from Old Kampala. When we moved to Nankulabye, is when a doctor opened up a clinic on the building next to us. In many cities in Japan, there are specialized clinics in almost every neighborhood that can be accessed within 10 minutes by bicycle or on foot.

I attended Buganda Road Primary School (BRPS), a private school at the time I joined that later became a Universal Primary Education (UPE) school. Classroom numbers drastically increased from about 50 per class to over 100. Resources didn’t meet the exponential increase as more desks were squeezed into classrooms and the quality of lunch deteriorated as it was now serving more pupils. The average class size in Japan is about 40 pupils, with majority of elementary and junior high schools providing nutritious lunches.

Infrastructure and Reliability

From age 10 until about 21, we lived in Nankulabye, a 30-minute walk from downtown Kampala. Rapid growth in the 2000s meant housing and public utilities like water were developed haphazardly. Although we lived beside the main road (Hoima Road), I often had to use dingy paths to get to school, downtown, or friends’ places. The drainage would flood and roads turned muddy. We also endured our share of load shedding until it stabilized in the late 2000s and mid-2010s. After nearly a decade in Japan, I have never experienced load shedding. Once, there was a maintenance notice for my apartment building announcing a temporary blackout between midnight and 1:00 a.m. I was awake; the crew came, and the lights didn’t even blink. Although Japan is disaster-prone, the systems in place to reduce damage and inconvenience are remarkable.

Why Traditional Paths Feel Less Urgent

In hindsight, our parents didn’t have to convince us to pursue traditional careers. As young adults facing these challenges first-hand, we saw the gaps that needed fixing, so many of us dreamed to serve our country in traditional capacities. A Japanese teenager or youth who has grown up with such certainty in terms of public service delivery, has already fulfilled the first two steps of their Maslow’s needs. The natural course of events is to actively pursue steps 3 to 5 i.e. relationships, esteem and self-actualization, which to some degree explains why many shun traditional career paths.

A Global Shift

The world is more inter-connected, and fast evolving with AI, than when we were growing up. Many children growing up in African cities, and even some rural areas, now have access to abundant information that inspires them to think beyond traditional careers. Therefore, it is not only teenagers and young adults in Japan that are aspiring to “non-traditional” career pathways.

The Dream for Africa’s Future

The Africa I dream of is one where our children and the next generations have the liberty and options to chase their dreams without the weight of nation-building on their shoulders. The onus is on my generation to create systems, frameworks and institutions whose values are rooted in the greater good “all for one and one for all.” To re-echo one of Africa’s greatest leaders, Nelson Mandela: “Where people of goodwill get together and transcend their differences for the common good, peaceful and just solutions can be found even for those problems which seems most intractable.” How can we make this dream true for our children and their children?

Credit: Image generated by Gemini AI