Abstract: Under the dual shocks of the collapse of Japan's bubble economy and the “Employment Ice Age”, the Dankai Junior Generation, born between the early 1970s and the early 1980s, experienced a series of social challenges, including the devaluation of educational credentials and persistent difficulties in securing stable employment. The widespread expansion of non-regular employment significantly weakened this generation's capacity to withstand social risks, leading to increasingly cautious attitudes toward marriage and family formation, as well as the emergence of a victim mentality and an extreme form of individualism. The roots of this crisis lie in the failure of the industrial-era production model, the collapse of the bubble economy, and the increasing frequency of major social incidents. Although the Japanese government has sought to mitigate these problems through measures such as strengthening the social security system, promoting employment support, expanding childcare assistance, and developing a diversified long-term care system, the overall effectiveness of these interventions has remained limited. Japan's experience offers valuable lessons for China in addressing similar structural social challenges, highlighting the importance of forward-looking and systematic institutional reforms based on top-level policy design.

Key words: bubble economy, “Dankai Junior Generation”, non-regular employment, social governance