neighbors separated by a narrow strip of water, China and Japan have periodic rises and falls in their diplomatic relationship, but there are many things the two countries share in common. China experienced great social upheaval and Japan went through World War II, but despite these different historical traumas, both resolved to assign priority to economic development. Yet how will the dramatic social changes and the fading away of tradition affect the Chinese and Japanese people, especially the thought and values of their young people. Amid dramatic social changes and turbulence in values, what are the characteristics of their young people’s attitudes and behavior? Focusing on such problems, the author of this paper spent four years carrying out indepth investigations and research on college students’ understanding of nature, ecological and environmental issues, etc. The college students in this study came from nearly 20 universities in Japan and 20 universities in China. This paper will undertake a detailed comparative analysis of the ideological and value orientations of young people in China and Japan.