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But in their ebullience, the Japanese have preferred merely to grow, and so Tokyo continues to spread over the once green Kanto Plain like lava from an erupting volcano. As one Japanese psychologist wrote: "The Japanese is by nature prone to feel lonely, and he cannot bear to lead a solitary existence. He does not wish to live except where he is constantly surrounded by people." The adhesive that holds this mass together is the atmosphere of security in numbers so vast that mere compression affords privacy, of a sophistication and toughness that set Tokyo above and beyond any other Asian city. Even the delightfully wicked quality of its night life helps to weld the city. More than anything else, it is a city of people, of crowds, of action. It is bound to emerge from this Olympiad uglier than ever, but beloved of its people nonetheless.