Fureai
Fureai is a Japanese term to refer to the formation of emotional connection between people of different age group and/or profession within the community.
Etymology
The word "Fureai" is composed of fure from fureru and ai. It could be translated as "contact; connectedness; rapport".Linguistic definition
"Fureai" approximates the English expressions for "mutual touch" or "mutual contact".Generally, the word "Fureai"" is used in the following contexts:
- Only applied for socially-beneficial realms
- Evaluates emotional relationship while excluding exchange of technical knowledge and/or arrangement of political/economic interests
- makes it necessary that humans keep in face to face contact, excluding connections by Internet, mobile phones and other IT devices.
The following examples would not be correct Japanese usage:Fureai by way of InternetFureai between yakuza and politiciansFureai between executives of local businessesFureai among IT experts
History of usage
"Fureai" is a relatively recent addition to Japanese, first usage recorded in the 1970s and 1980s.The acceptance of Fureai reflects Japan's socioeconomic transformation, particularly the collapse of traditional communities. Most Japanese had been living, since its economic growth in 1950s and 1960s, in their rural community with agriculture, fishing and/or forestry as its main industry, with their own extended family where the elderly lived together with their offspring, but the popularization of nuclear family and individualism made some people, especially the elderly, suffer from social exclusion. The traditional childrearing method also disappeared as a result of such a social change, giving rise to delinquency in the adolescence and the concept "Fureai" became popular in Japan as a means to solve such social issues by trying to create their emotional relationship.