A leading Japanese journalist gives an analysis and descriptive account of Tokyo's current youth culture and modern Japanese society. He examines why 40 million young people between the ages of 15 and 30 are breaking away from traditional society to seek quick money and new ways of life - technology, drugs, free sex, punk rock. Many school drop-outs join the "tribes" of lawless bikers hoping to be accepted into the immensely wealthy underworld gangs of the Yazuka. Each chapter of the book tells the story of a single character, and the range is broad - from drug dealers, office girls and hostesses, to students at Tokyo's most prestigious university.