This book investigates the source from which the pressure to conform arises in Japanese society. Even though the contemporary Japanese word for “society” (Shakai) has a history of 140 years, it does not include the concept of respecting the individual but refers mainly to social frameworks and institutional aspects. At the same time, the traditional Japanese terms for “society”, primarily Seken, that have been in use for 1,400 years have embraced human relationships of the members of the group. Examining phenomena such as low worker engagement, karoshi (death by overwork), high middle-age male suicide rates, bullying in school and at work, sex discrimination, hereditary membership in the Diet, and failure to provide adequate protection for whistle-blowers, this book reveals a common structure in Japanese minds: lack of respect for individuality, and the traditional and narrow sense of the world, i.e., Seken.