This year (2012) marks the 44th anniversary since the Educational Counseling Centers were launched in 1968. That year, the Vietnam War was raging, American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–68) was assassinated, the “Prague Spring” freedom movement in Eastern Europe was crushed, and the children of Biafra in Africa were dying of starvation. While Japan was enjoying a period of high economic growth and the nation was focused on the pursuit of material wealth, it was also experiencing serious environmental pollution and seeing student protests spread across university campuses throughout Japan. Under such circumstances, many Japanese youth were questioning society’s values and wondering how to live their lives.