Forever Young: The Changing Face of Consumerism in Tokyo's Stagnant Economy

TOKYO, JAPAN
On a Sunday along the the streets of the Harajuku district of Tokyo, you will see Japanese youth dressed in the newest elaborate fads and fashions, giving the district the reputation of having some of the best street style in the world. This display of self-identity allows for self expression and fun in a conformist society, but beneath this front, is a deeper social issue plaguing Japan. Japan is a very wealthy nation, and the result of that is lots of consumerism. This is how Japan's been for quite some time. The surplus leads to outlandish fads that define their culture. However, the problem is that the stagnant economy has led to high unemployment rates. The youth of Japan is moving back in with their parents and postponing having a stable job, marriage, and home ownership. They are extending their childhoods and are staying in states of suspended adolescence. 

The young people of Japan are growing into the adults of Japan, but aren't acting or dressing any different from the kids. This refusal to grow up or lack of the ability to grow up is completely altering Japan's society. The consumerist fashion represents the indulgence and superficiality that has been present in Japan for a long time, but the people sporting the trends have the money to keep up with the fads but little else. The fashions, such as manga and anime, allow them to appear more well-off than they actually are. The economic problems of this country are causing the young people to live at home, and is creating a sort of social recession. The out-of-a-job young person tends to look to things like Harajuku or choose to lock themselves up in their houses and never leave. This direct reflection of the city's struggling economy and lack of jobs is present in Tokyo, but you can also see it popping up in both Europe and the U.S. in different forms. 


This same class of disillusioned youth is forming in America, and if it continues for long enough, then it may form a permanent underclass that begins to drop out of society. American social tradition has been to show your class through how big your house is or what car you drive, but America's youth is moving toward showing their social status by how they dress. Some social groups that you can see similar, but less extreme, tendencies in are goths or hipsters. They represent a sort of change in consumerism. Extreme self-expression through changes in appearance could be looked at as replacement for real life. These people in Japan are living in the fantasy world of fashion, and feel so hopeless that they don't see the point in leaving it. America could be heading in that direction.