Until around 1900, individual life-spans were very uncertain. To gain a minimum of stability, European as well as Japanese societies developed non-egocentered world-views (type "Gemeinschaft"). With the epidemiologic transition, ages at death and hence life expectancies became higher, more standardized and more reliable. The breakthrough in Europe occurred early in the 20th century, and in Japan after World War II. Both societies then abandoned their old survival strategies and developed more ego-centered world-views. It could be shown, that Japan is following Europe, once again with a time-lag, towards becoming a society of singles (type "Gesellschaft").