As the Japanese birthrate falls to a new record low, and the media focus on disruptive youngsters and classroom chaos (with 17-year-olds coming in for especially harsh criticism), it comes as no surprise that so many young adults are rejecting marriage and fearful of parenthood. How will they manage, they wonder. How does anyone know how best to bring up a child?

Common sense and a few simple rules, says Dorothy Law Nolte, who was more than a little surprised to learn in her native California that a book she cowrote in 1998, based on a poem she penned in the 1950s, had already sold 650,000 copies in Japanese translation. "I believe the success of 'Children Learn What They Live' is due to timing, meaning and need. Children are in trouble all over the world, but I've been hearing horror stories ever since I flew in."

She had arrived in Tokyo on June 25 for just one week. Her first visit to Japan, she laughed when asked if she was enjoying her stay. "My dear, all I've seen is my hotel room, street scenes from taxis, and this room. I'm stunned by the numbers of people, of course, but Tokyo seems beautiful. I was surprised by how green it is. A friend's taking me to Kamakura on Saturday."