If you examine that 12 luxury sports cars' accident and thar Draemon commercial, you will catch glimpses of what cars are to Japanese people !?

Last December, a spectacular car accident happened in Japan. Since the multiple pileup involved 12 luxury sports cars like Ferraris, it drew international attention and was reported worldwide (click here). Although news reports gave few details about the cars' drivers, beyond quoting police officials as saying their ages ranged from 37 to 60, many people assumed that the drivers must be super rich. After a while, a magazine reported that some of the drivers whom it visited were not that rich, rather seemingly ordinary people. Although I didn't know if the information was accurate, I thought that it was likely. Can you guess why?

People between their 40s and 60s were raised when Japan was a developing country. After they started working, they would usually work very hard to purchase and do what they wanted. Men from that generation would get their driver licences as soon as they turned 18. They would be eager to ride around in a high-end car. Cars tended to be considered as a status symbol for men. Women would want men to cruise around. For some women, the matter of what kind of cars men have would be a important criteria for judging men. On top of that, the generation tends to like getting expensive but unique things because they experienced the bubble economy when they were young. Taking this into account, given the aforementioned drivers' ages, it's likely that the drivers earned money the hard way and took out loans to buy a luxury car in order to make their dreams true.

According to an official survey, roughly speaking, over 95% of the men from 30 to 64 have a driver's licence. As for women, about 90% of those from 30 to 49 have one (50-54:83.5%, 55-59:74.7%, and 60-64:67.2%). It was very common for this generation to get their driver's licences around 20. In contrast, it's been said that people in their teens and 20s have less interest in cars. They, especially those living in large cities, even have less intention to get their driver's licences. According to the aforementioned official survey, driver's licence holder ratios by age and gender are that 81.5% for men from 20 to 24, 93.4% for men from 25 to 29, 72.4% for women from 20 to 24, and 87.5% for women from 25 to 29. Another survey announced recently shows that the driver's licence holder ration of 20-year-old people is 56.7%, which is 4.9% increase over the previous year.

It's been difficult for young people to get a stable job with a good salary. It's been said that young people only buy what they need now even if they can afford to buy extra things. Unlike older generations, they don't see cars as a status symbol for men. Under these circumstances, I expect that more young people will become indifferent to cars.

Anyway, a Toyota TV commercial series has been drawing great attention (Please see the YouTube videos. I think that the English subtitles added by somebody are good enough to understand the story. I think that you can see English subtitles only on YouTube site). This is because it's a live-action version of Doraemon, a popular Japanese animation. In the animation, other than Doraemon, main characters are school children. The Toyota's commercial series portrays their lives in 20 years, in other words, the characters who have turned 30. Popular actors and actresses who match the image of original characters play the 30-year-old characters (Jean Reno plays Doraemon). Remarkably, the story line of the commercial series is focused on making young people feel like they need to get their driver's licences. The commercial shows how seriously Toyota takes the current situation.

【My previous blog articles related to the topic】
Things in which young Japanese people are less interested
http://japan-through-my-eyes.blogspot.com/2010/03/things-in-which-young-japanese-people.html
Japanese young people having no desire for purchase
http://japan-through-my-eyes.blogspot.com/2010/03/japanese-young-people-having-no-desire.html

Cool men! イケメン/ikemen イクメン/ikumen

Have you heard of the Japanese word, イケメン/ikemen? This word was coined a decade ago and used only among the youth. In the past few years, the word has become very popular to the point where elderly people who always have difficulty catching up with new words often use the word. イケメン/ikemen means good looking men. イケ/ike comes from the slang word, イケてる/iketeru (being cool). メン/men comes from 面/men (faces) and the English word, men.

Nowadays, I often hear another new word ,イクメン/ikumen, which was coined recently and is becoming popular. イク/iku comes from 育児/ikuji (child rearing). イクメン/ikumen means men who are willing to or are active in taking care of their children. According to the news, more and more husbands, especially young ones, want to have more time to take care of their small children and spend with their children since they are wondering about a life like older generations are leading. Specifically, younger men think that it's meaningless that like older traditional men, they always work long hours and don't have time to spend with their families. A few months ago, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare launched the イクメン/ikumen project to encourage men to take paternity leave since the declining birthrate is a serious social problem in Japan.

Today, nobody is surprised to see suited businessmen holding their babies on the way to their offices in order to take them to baby-care centers. In the past decade, the idea that both a husband and wife should be involved in taking care of their children has become common. More and more young husbands don't want their wives to give up their careers, want them to bear some of the financial burdens, and are willing to share housework. Some young men believe that the great involvement of child rearing will improve themselves. It's reported that a major securities company requires all of their workers to finish their duties and leave their offices by 7p.m. so that their workers can have more time to spend with their families. As a result, the company has succeeded in boosting employee working efficiency.

However, it's still a reality that many men who want to become イクメン/ikumen are forced to work long hours or hesitate to ask their companies to take paternity leave since they feel under a great deal of peer pressure not to do that even though they have a right to do.

Japanese women being like men/ オス化女子

Have you heard of the Japanese phrase 草食系男子/sousyoku-kei-danshi (herbivorous men) ? When I first talked about the coined　phrase here more than a year ago (click here), it just started gaining popularity. Now, the phrase is very popular to the point where even elderly people who always have a hard time catching up with new words often use the phrase in daily conversation. Everybody has realized that the number of men categorized as 草食系男子/sousyoku-kei-danshi (herbivorous men) are increasing, although the definition is ambiguous. Some young men are willing to refer to themselves as 草食系男子/sousyoku-kei-danshi (herbivorous men).

http://zexy.net/contents/lovenews/
article.php?d=20100915

As 草食系男子/sousyoku-kei-danshi (herbivorous men) has become popular, Japanese phrases: 男前女子/otokomae-jyoshi and オス化女子/osu-ka-jyoshi have been often heard of. These two phrases represent Japanese women who act or think like men typically do. These women often make people feel that they are more masculine (mentally) than 草食系男子/sousyoku-kei-danshi (herbivorous men). Also, it's said that these women are increasing in number.

According to a survey on these women in their 20s and 30s conducted by a major magazine, the following things make them realize that they are like men.
-Using male words subconsciously (In the Japanese language, some words are used mainly by men; some words are used mainly by women. In addition, suffix forms make your sentences sound masculine, feminine and things like that )
-Always expressing oneself very clearly. Disliking women who sneakily bitch about others. 　
-Disliking all of the things that are generally considered to be feminine.
-Disliking typical Japanese women's behavior: always doing something and going somewhere with the same close friends. Preferring going to a movie and on a trip alone.
-Loving drinking alcohol very much. Stopping by male-dominated bars alone without hesitation.
-Not wearing skirts. Sitting in a chair with your legs open.

In addition, the survey describes that people consider the following women to be オス化女子/osu-ka-jyoshi.
- Women who are frank, have a positive way of thinking, can move on quickly and never linger on things unnecessarily. Their behaviors always stun men. -Women who can make quick decisions at work and always express themselves clearly.

In the survey, other examples are also introduced. From these descriptions alone, I would say that I'm a オス化女子/ /osu-ka-jyoshi.

The characteristics of young Japanese men--herbivorous men

It's been said that Japanese men, especially young ones, have recently become kinder to and less assertive towards women. Japanese women, meanwhile, have become stronger and more independent.

From a marketing perspective, the distinctive characteristics of Japanese people are defined by age bracket and generation. Some are further broken down and named after their characteristics. Some of the names are so popular that they have become common knowledge.

Lately, I often hear "草食系男子/soushokukei-danshi", which is a name describing a new group of young men mainly in their 20s. The phrase was coined a few years ago. 草食/soushoku is from "草食動物 soushoku-doubutsu" which means herbivore. 男子/danshi means a man. Can you guess what "草食系男子/soushokukei-danshi” indicates? Actually, herbivore is used here in contrast with carnivore. In Japanese carnivore is called 肉食動物/nikushoku-doubutsu. In this contrast, the the Kanji character "肉/niku" for" 肉食動物/nikushoku-doubutsu" implies 肉体/nikutai (body) and 肉体関係/nikutai-kankei (physical relationship).

Well, the main characteristics of " 草食系男子/soushokukei-danshi” are as follows

• They prefer staying home rather than going out in their free time.
• They are (relatively) sensitive and kind.
• They don't actively/aggressively try to find their girlfriends and date.
• When a man is asked by a woman to go shopping or to go to dinner etc, he will accept her offer, and will accompany her on the outing, but this rarely leads to them dating each other.
• When they spend the night with a woman who is just a friend, and sleep in the same room, nothing even happens between them.

Other than this, it's been said that many Japanese men in their 20s aren't interested in cars. In the past, many young Japanese men used to work hard to buy brand-new/stylish cars. In contrast, at the moment, many Japanese men in their 20s don't think they need cars. Under these circumstances, it's often reported that automobile companies in Japan have been seriously damaged not only by the current economic crisis but also by the attitudes of young people toward cars.

On top of that, young men have less interest in traveling overseas because they think that they can get any information they could possibly need about foreign countries over the internet. They usually don't spend money on expensive thing seven though they can afford to.

It seems that Japanese men in their 20s are no longer able to serve as the driving force for the expansion of domestic demand.