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No industrialized nation can be an economic island, yet Japan continues to behave like one. When foreign goods and services--such as food, airline tickets, and postal service--are priced much lower than those provided in Japan, the government's response is to tighten regulations or make it illegal for Japanese companies and consumers to buy those goods. Consumers have paid for such protections through higher-priced goods, smaller living spaces, and longer commutes. The results are clear when one looks at the decreasing affluence of each successive generation--from those who rebuilt the country after World War II and reaped the promise of a good life to the Nintendo kids who have replaced family and country with on-line relationships. With the youngest generation, the frayed thread of culture and values that has bound the generations has finally snapped. Interactive games have given Nintendo kids the opportunity, not readily available in Japanese culture, to experiment with different roles and outcomes and to believe that they can control their own fate. As they grow up, their economic and political decisions will force their government to participate in the global economy.