The word
furiitaa and the lifestyle that goes with it has always had a bad image. It always brings an undeserved sense of embarrasment and shame to the men and women who are described as such. In
Japan, the
salaryman has always been the foundation of society, thus a
furiitaa, or person with no occupation, is looked badly upon.
They work part-time and full-time in restaurants, bars, and shops - wherever they can in order to pay for rent and daily necessities and get by with little. They count not only high school dropouts among their ranks, but also college graduates (even from the BIG schools like Waseda and to-dai) and former salaryman and OL.
With growing dissatisfication with the "norm" amongst the young people of Japan, along with the decreasing prospects of finding a job among the salaryman and OL ranks, the number of furiitaa are increasing at large rates. However, despite the bad image, they have many advantages over their salaryman and OL brothers and sisters. They enjoy almost all of the following: the freedom of individuality and expression, their own free time, paid overtime, and flexible work schedules. However, salaryman and OL put up with business suits and uniforms, unpaid overtime, work on weekends, going drinking with despised workmates, kusai oyaji, and the cursed “keigo”. On the other hand, furiitaa do not get the benefit of the seniority wage system and getting to work and play with kyuuryou dorobou like me. ;)
The word furiitaa is written in katakana.