''In the past 20 to 30 years, the average height has increased by 5 centimeters, based on the much faster growth of people born between 1940 and 1960,'' said Makiko Kouchi, an anthropologist who is research group leader at the National Institute of Bioscience and Human Technology. ''The body weight of men has stayed the same as the height, meaning that physiques of men have remained pretty much the same. Women's body weights have not increased in pace with their heights, though, with the result that women have become much, much slimmer.''

The vogue for thinness among Japanese women has clearly caught on, as even a quick glance at the twiggy women who appear on popular television variety shows will attest. But taller young people here complain that the Japanese idea of themselves as a short people has not kept pace with reality, resulting in a frequently inconvenient mismatch.

''The old Japanese industrial standards no longer fit Japanese life,'' said Matsutaro Yoshioka, research and development director of the Research Institute of Human Engineering for Quality Life, a quasi-governmental group that sells data about the characteristics of consumers to industry. ''The standard cooking table, for example, only fits the older generations. We are trying to measure the younger generation so as to advise Japanese corporations how to meet their needs.''

The most obvious area where this mismatch is encountered is in clothing. Japan's clothing manufacturers still tend to offer few goods to those on the taller end of the scale. The problem goes well beyond clothes, though, and extends to furniture, automobile design and train seats, too. (A disclosure: at 6-foot-4, this reporter is familiar with the issue.)

''The way my house was built, everything is very low,'' said Akiko Ikeguchi, another Waseda University student who, at about 5-foot-7, is roughly two inches taller than average for her age. ''The kitchen counter is so low I have to bend over all the time to do the dishes. I've got the same problem on the train or on airplanes: the seating space is too small.''

But for many of today's taller young Japanese, the envy of others compensates nicely for such inconveniences.

''I used to have a real complex about my height, but I don't feel that way anymore,'' said Asami Shikano, a 19-year-old freshman at Kagawa Nutrition University. At nearly 5-foot-8 1/2, she said, her striking height is often a source of attraction for men and wonder for women.

''Sometimes, in a crowd, people will turn back to stare at me from top to bottom, and that can be a bit annoying,'' Ms. Shikano said, laughing. ''But men and women are always telling me how jealous they are. They ask me what my secret is, whether I ate a lot of meat, or whether it was sleeping a lot that helped me grow.''