January 27, 2024 Fuka Arai Japanese companies tend to ask job seekers to wear “recruit suits” with a black jacket, skirt/trousers, pumps, and white shirt during job hunting while companies also ask them to show their individuality and personality, which is one of the contradictory cultures in Japan. Japanese “Unique” Recruitment System Are you familiar with the Japanese recruitment method called “ikkatsu saiyou”? In the United States, for instance, companies recruit employees

January 27, 2024 Yuka Tamura Almost 80% of Japanese female university students wear makeup when going to a convenience store, as reported by Mynavi Co., a publishing company. This raises the question: why do they place so much importance on their makeup? Makeup is a Manner in Japan For many Japanese women, makeup is seen as a form of social etiquette. They prefer not to be seen without makeup, especially by people they know. Some even feel obligated to wear makeup because the

July 27, 2023 Kiwa Tomonari A Japanese cosmetics brand called Canmake Tokyo has changed their jingle from "Girls are very enjoyable!" to “You can meet KAWAII!” And the new jingle was highly praised especially by men who wear makeup. However, as of this writing, their website still carries their slogans "Girly, Pop & Shiny” and many people do not realize it. Japanese Cosmetic Brand Changed Their jingle Canmake Tokyo is a very popular brand among the younger generation in Japa

January 27, 2024 Momo Muraki There is no standard definition of "beauty." If it is truly so, you can define it whatever you like. But have you ever adjusted yourself to other people’s standards of beauty? In recent years, lookism, “prejudice or discrimination based on physical appearance,” has prevailed in Japan due to the spread of social media. Lookism has affected not only young people's appearance but also their minds. Japanese Diversity and Lack of Confidence in Appearan

June 21, 2023 Akari Kanaya Since Japan is an island country with little to no diversity compared to countries combined with various cultures, skin colors, and body shapes, it is sometimes difficult for people in Japan to embrace their bodies as it is. It leads people to have toxic habits of trying to “fit into” society. Japanese Beauty standard Double eyelids, pale smooth skin, slim body. All of these beauty standards still dictate Japanese people’s mindset till this day. Esp

July 2, 2022 Saki Nakamura Do you like your face? Do you like your shape? In Japan, a lot of young women seem not to be confident in their appearance. It affects their daily life and even harms their health when they conduct the excessive diet or unbalanced diet. It seems to closely related to the spread of “lookism.” What is Lookism? Lookism is to judge a person simply by the appearance or to discriminate on the basis of appearance. For example, it is still common in Japan t

July 3, 2022 Momoho Kumekawa Kim Kardashian, a celebrity and business person in the U.S., has launched a brand Skims, which sells underwear, loungewear, and shapewear for all women. A concept of the brand is “Solution For Every Body.” Its product line can suit changing shapes of women’s bodies. She focuses on a very unique point because such adaptive clothing has not been developed well in the underwear market yet. Although her brand has a good concept for diversity and, in f

July 2, 2022 Ayaka Bando In Japan, during the Meiji period from 1868 to 1912, almost all women were not able to get enough education. However, now there are many women who can access to the higher education. What have changed in women’s education in Japan? There are many turning points that is related to change. During Meiji period, because there was no university that women were able to enter. In 1872, Gakusei (official education system) was promulgated. This document clearl

July, 2,2022 Yuri Miyata In Japan, there are a lot of flaming advertisements, and often they lack gender consideration. These flaming advertisements are often divided into three features; sexuality, gender roles, and lookism. Who Wants Sexual Metaphor in Governmental Advertisements? One controvertial case of sexually-problematic advertisements was a summer tourism campaign video sponsored by Miyagi Prefectural government. Featuring Danmitsu, a Japanese actress and gravure id

July 2, 2022 Kiho Taguchi Motherhouse is a Japanese fashion brand that has strong capacity of product design and planning, manufacturing, and quality guidance in developing countries, as well as selling their products in developed countries. The brand originally started in Bangladesh in 2006, and now expanded in a total of six countries; Myanmar, Indonesia, Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka now. Products made in these countries are marketed in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapor

July 3, 2022 Sae Hirata Ladies First. This is one of the behaviors that many people know as a Western way of respecting women. However, there have been no such mannerisms among Japanese men. Escorting someone is an unfamiliar behavior for them and they often hesitate to do so. How Gentle He Is! US president Joe Biden visited Japan from May 22nd to 24th in 2022. While he was in Japan, he visited a restaurant with Fumio Kishida, the Prime Minister of Japan. When the scene of hi

July 2, 2022 Shinju Ichikawa When you were in elementary school, did you remember what color your school bag was? Most Japanese people...

July 3, 22 Arisa Yajima On April 4, 2022, a full-page advertisement for the comic Tawawa on Monday ( Getsuyo-bino Tawawa) published in...

July 7, 2022 Mio Murata Do you know sex workers? They are engaged in the sex industry, such as prostitution and the porn business. The...

July 07, 2022 Hikari Ishikawa Is a spouse’s consent necessary for an abortion? In Japan, the curettage method accounts for 80% of all...

April 13, 2022 Yuka Yoshida Why was Shirakawa-go, a World Heritage Site, chosen as one of the 100 Most Sustainable Tourist Destinations...

April 21, 2022 Manyu Li Along with economic development, China has always had environmental problems. In recent years, environmental...

April 9, 2022 Mizuho Kakiuchi There are many famous sceneries in Japan. For example, Mt. Fuji, the historic cityscape of Kyoto, and the...

April 21, 2022 Ayaka Shoji There are 1.4 million tons of wasted clothes in Japan. Recently, there has been a boom in used clothing in...

April 21, 2022 Yuna Inoue In Japan, the birth rate has been decreasing and depopulation is progressing. To solve this problem, a lot of...