Only in Japan: Keeping Up With the Suzukis

39 Responses

1. To my understanding, the difference between 保育園 and 幼稚園 is not public vs. private. 保育園 are gov’t subsidized, and there’s a tiered system to set the family side payments based on income. 保育園 also have a far more favorable caretaker-to-child ratio, and extended hours if necessary due to the parents’ work schedules.
   When I hear ‘private school’, I think of either an international school, or, at the high school level (when testing in), a second or third choice, usually private, used as a backup if the kid doesn’t test into their first choice. And even those private high schools follow the regular curriculum, so are not really any more expensive than a regular high school.
   An aside: 保育園 was maybe the best thing that happened to our kids (especially the oldest), and to us. I think it was like the modern version of an extended family. Our kids were not alone at home, they effectively had brothers and sisters to grow up with, the hobo and other parents somewhat like aunts/uncles. The transition from their groups there (9-10 kids together every day) into 1st grade has to have been easier than if they’d been at home until starting school.

   1. There’s also an image that youchien start doing academic prep for elementary school, and that the families are ‘better’ as the mothers aren’t working. At least that’s what (a couple of) people said to us.
      Needless to say, I don’t agree with them 🙂

      1. I think you’re right in that the main difference is that 幼稚園 are seen as doing more academic preparation and 保育園 more simply childcare. Since there are both private 保育園 and public 幼稚園, the difference has nothing to do with public or private. It used to be that 幼稚園 only offered care until about 14:00, so they were not an available choice for working mothers. Since many 幼稚園 have started offering childcare later–and even on Saturdays–the difference between 保育園 and 幼稚園 seems to be slowly disappearing. Perception takes longer to change, however.

2. Nah man, I’m right there with you.
   What stops me short of complaining about it though, is “it’s none of your business.”
   I enjoy my pleasures as much as the next guy, but a solid 100 yen PS3 RPG, a used bike helmet on Craigslist for 2000 yen, or a quality used leather jacket at Mode-Off can really satisfy my cravings.
   I have a little bit of a mixed opinion, but I agree with you.

   1. Oh, I don’t march up to people in the street and critique their choice of car 😉
      But I do need blog fodder sometimes, and people tent to like rants!

3. I am totally with you on the black saloon vans (although they are super nice to ride in) as the drivers are always jerks. There are certain cars here which just immediately red-flag the driver as an a**hole. My top 3 are:
   Alphard/Vellfire vans
   Mercedes GL Trucks
   Audis (especially the R or RS branded sport versions).

   1. And Hummers! There are half a dozen antisocial misfits in Sendai that drive Hummers. Whenever I see them I hope petrol prices go up 400%. I’ll be happy to pay that for our kei car and hybrid 🙂

4. Yeah! And jewellery. Watches that cost more than I earn in more than a year. But if they can afford them and that’s what they want, that’s fine. There are a lot of those cars here in Okinawa. But the families are big. I have three kids but I’d like to get one of those, too. Maybe in about 10 years when I can get an electric/plug-in hybrid used. Please let my car last another 10 years!

5. Whew! Given the car comments here, I’m glad I drive a Fit, while my wife drives an N-Box…!

6. Can you explain your title? The new country part seems confusing.thanks

   1. Hi Chris
      It’s a reference to the fact that despite it being in a slightly different form, conspicuous consumption is a thing here in Japan. The ‘new country’ bit is because I am an immigrant here, and I assume most people reading in English are immigrants 🙂
      Maybe that assumption is false? I know we have at least some Japanese readers.

7. Couldn’t agree more about the huge people carriers!
   I’m not so sure about private kindergartens though. I don’t know about Sendai, but where we live public youchien cost 12,000 yen per month (excluding meals, etc), whereas the basic fees for private ones are 20,000 yen. Not a huge difference. You are also still entitled to the local government subsidies based on your income at private kindergartens. As a result around here there are more private kindergartens than public, and the public ones can’t enough students.

   1. It’s not so much the public vs private youchien, but rather the hoikusho (mainly working mothers due to the longer hours) vs youchien (‘proper’ stay at home mums). At least up here, there is still a perception that working mothers are somehow lesser than their housewife counterparts.

8. A larger vehicle is definitely needed when you have 2 (or more) children who should be in car seats. Sedans are just not big enough.
   To me, it is the way some of the vans are tricked out. They are so tacky.

   1. Yeah, we tried to fit our family of five in a sedan. Technically there are five seats, but…it just doesn’t work.

      1. Hey, if you have three kids drive whatever you like 🙂
         (except a Hummer. I will scowl at you if you drive a Hummer regardless of how many kids you have)

   2. You can totally fit a family of 4 (2 kids) in a Sedan. We’ve done it for 2 years when both kids needed car seats. It’s when you have 3 kids or more that it gets complicated 🙂

9. Hmmm, I’m not so sure about this. I’ve never thought of Japan as ‘conspicuous consumption’ territory because, generally speaking, most Japanese don’t really like to be conspicuous. What they do like is to own well-made things — and I think it’s important to distinguish that from CC.
   CC is a matter of purchasing a luxury item largely to show off to others (I think the designer pets is the beat example in the OP). But buying something well-made because you care about the quality of an item is an internal matter. For example, I’m a wine fan so I’ll occasionally drop some heavy coin on a bottle of Sauternes or a Grand Cru for me and the wife to enjoy, but it’s not like I’m going to be waving it around at the next Jichikai meeting.
   Others might be particular about clothes or cars but I wouldn’t call that CC unless they were being flamboyant about it.
   I work at a university in which several of the students have wealthy parents but you’d never know who has the dough and who doesn’t from the clothing.

   1. Conspicuous consumption is about having the latest whatever, or this season’s handbag or fashion. Most Japanese don’t shout about their status, they show it by what they wear and use, where they shop or dine. But it is still CC, and is most visible with women who constantly have a new handbag or jewellery.
      University students tend to dress down anyway. It is a matter of looking at what kind of shoes, watch, glasses or backpack they have.

   2. Michael, your experience is vastly different from mine. Having lived for 10 years in Tokyo, were advertising is constantly blasted through all your senses, I can say I have not been to any country that has more conspicuous consumption than Japan.
      People might trick themselves into believing that expensive makeup, or cars, or electronics, or pets,… is not CC, but it is. Being right now in the process of buying a randoseru, it is actually scary how deep this whole thing is embedded into society in this country.
      Don’t get me wrong, I love Japan for many reasons, but this has to be the first time I read an opinion that the country is not over-consuming.

      1. Interesting. Over 25 years here myself and I always thought Japanese tended towards conformity and inconspicuity, not wanting to be that nail that stands out. Maybe this is wrong. I always thought flaunting or showiness were considered crass here and that people were geared towards modesty.
         I realize of course that this is very much a consumer society but I guess I’m just not seeing these ostentatious displays aimed at garnering prestige (which is what CC is). I see Japanese consuming to keep up with the average, but not to be the first-on-my-block.
         I guess I’m just not aware of the real Japan.

      2. Hi Michael
         I think you’re in the same country, you just seem to be working off a slightly different definition of conspicuous consumption.
         Conspicuous consumption is unconscious, tends to be a middle class thing, and has the purpose of keeping up appearances or fitting in with peers. So basically catnip for Japan. Randoseru (you can buy second hand for a few thousand yen but that would be inconceivable for most people), juku (all her classmates are going), seijinshiki kimono/photo sets (and even worse, elementary school graduation photo sets!!!), and expensive weddings are all examples of this in my opinion.

      3. Just to add a few thoughts on this beyond my other reply…
         I don’t see how buying a randoseru can be considered CC. Yes, they are expensive as I’m sure you’d prefer a durable model but since its something that every school child in Japan requires, unless you’re buying the diamond encrusted version, I’m not sure that would be any more an example of CC than, say, getting your shaken done.
         Same with the advertising. Yes, it is often garish and noisy (this is standard in Asian shopping districts) but that’s the retailer hoping for consumption, not the consumer. And most of the biggest offenders are low-end shops like Bic Camera. People certainly don’t shop there to show off their wealth or good taste.
         I’m pretty well-traveled and I would argue that Japan is at the low-end of the CC spectrum. CC is much more in your face in countries with greater wealth disparities, where the moneyed require a visual marker. Thus it’s very common among nouveau-riche classes — very visible in India, China, Philippines etc. Maybe there was some flaunting during Japan’s bubble but, hey, that was an anomaly that stopped over twenty-five years ago.
         This is in accordance with what sociologists and economists have noticed — that once a saturation point has been reached and conspicuous items no longer have the same cachet value, people move towards inconspicuous consumption.
         What I see in modern Japan are the popular ubiquitous discount shops, modest shops like Uniqlo and GU doing huge business, the 100-yen shops. Those brand-name shops in Ginza? Mostly Chinese visitors.
         I also see a visible move towards buying local produce.
         What I don’t see in Japan is the habit of maxing out on one’s credit card to purchase unnecessary ‘toys’ as a habit, the way it is in much of the West. Hence, the average Japanese person’s far higher savings.

      4. It would seem to me then (referring to RJ’s comment below, which I can’t nest under) that this is a pretty watered-down description of CC. Basically, it involves wanting to look like you fit by not appearing to be poor. In other words — trying to become inconspicuous.
         I think most posters here are simply describing consumption, cultural norms (the photos, the randoserus), and owning well-made goods (I have designer glasses because they look good and fit well) and are mistakenly rendering these things as CC.
         Let me take Catherine’s example, where she says we have look for the CC detail on university students (again, implying that it’s not conspicuous). She mentions:
         Watches — Who wears watches now?
         Make-up — You can see who wears make-up well or not but almost nobody can tell if the make-up is burando hin or not. (Source – female colleagues, wife and wife’s friend)
         Backpacks — So, if a kid has North Face written on his pack it’s an example of CC? Not convinced.
         Jewelry — Seriously? Japan is probably the least blingy place on earth. CC implies some bling.
         See my reply to Ryan at the end of the thread for a few more points.

      5. Well, it’s the standard definition (can’t get much more standard than wikipedia) 😉

10. ‘Most Japanese don’t shout about their status, they show it by what they wear and use, where they shop or dine. But it is still CC’
    I disagree. If you eat at an expensive restaurant or shop at an expensive clothing retailer it (generally) means you like quality food or clothing. It also means you have some disposable income. But neither of those things need imply CC. Mrerely spending money that you have on good things is not the same as being conspicuous.
    If you eat at Sukibayashi Jiro, even though you are not a bigtime sushi fan and then proceed to tell everyone how expensive it was, that would be CC. But simply dining there wouldn’t be.

    1. I think there is a fine line, and at the end of the day only the person concerned can tell (after a lot of introspection) what their reason for buying something is.
       Buying a good car because the people around you drive those kinds of cars?
       Wearing certain quality brands because that is what the seemingly successful people around you wear?
       One thing I am hoping to do in the future is to get more into clothes. Now I wear anything and look (according to my wife and friends) like a tramp. The plan now is to buy a few quality things and just wear those all the time instead.
       Might do a post about it depending on how it works out -maybe even with before and after pictures 😉

       1. ‘Buying a good car because the people around you drive those kinds of cars?’
          Actually, I’d simply call that conformity. If everyone else is doing it, it cant really be labelled ‘conspicuous.’ Conspicuous consumption is in the flaunting. Not ‘I have one too’ but ‘I have it — and you don’t. Look at me!

       2. One important point is that conspicuous consumption is rarely conscious: it’s not showing off, but rather keeping up appearances and trying to keep up with peers or perceived peers. I think I see a lot of this around me in Japan.
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspicuous_consumption

    2. Gonna have to disagree. Many Japanese buy expensive but s#it quality brand goods. LV, Moet, ドンペリ, Gucci, et al are garbage when it comes to actual materials and build quality. People buy that trash to show off or at least have parity with their friends/colleagues/neighbours. At the same time, many rave about how good something expensive is with little to nothing to back it up. Expensive=Good to the minds of most. That’s conspicuous consumption. Explains why you get rank amateurs out in full race kit on tri-bikes, ganbareing for 5km before packing it up back in their Merc SUV and heading home.
       I have the money to buy those brand goods, but I don’t, because I care more about quality than telling everyone what I spent on something, even unconsciously.
       As for OP. While I hate, HATE, Alphard/Velfire drivers, I can hardly blame the car. For what it is, it’s a fine, nice ride for passengers. It’s hard to claim one of those or a Voxy (which rides a Corolla platform, mind you) consumes more fuel than necessary, considering they come standard with a 4cyl engine.
       I do agree about the sad sad pet shops and expensive brand goods (see above)

       1. Hey, I think Alphards are great, if you need to put six people in a taxi or you have three kids or you’re coaching a volleyball team 😉
          It’s the lone person driving it to work and back or to the supermarket that does my head in…

       2. Actually LV, Gucci, Moet et al are good products. But, yes, their cachet perhaps outweighs their real value (Godiva is the same — good chocos, but there are equal or better items at a better price).
          Anyway, let me use LV as an example of alleged Japanese CC. My wife, who is big on purchasing only quality items, got an LV purse as a gift 15 years ago from her grandmother. She has never touched it and would not want to be seen with it.
          Why? Because, as she said, ‘Every 16 year old has an LV purse. I’d look like I was trying too hard.’ Your average Japanese won’t buy an LV bag to impress. The saturation point was reached at the end of the bubble period. Trying hard to impress looks tacky — nouveau-riche. Sociologists and economists are aware of this type of phenomena.
          To be honest, I think a lot of foreign observers are twenty years behind the curve on understanding many issues or social phenomena in Japan. I’m kind of surprised the ‘Enjo Kosai for buying Chanel’ meme hasn’t popped up yet.

    3. Michael–I’d like to reply to one of your previous, embedded posts, but don’t seem to have that option, so i’ll do it here.
       “Over 25 years here myself and I always thought Japanese tended towards conformity and inconspicuity, not wanting to be that nail that stands out.”
       Hey, I bet you remember when all the cars were white…!

11. Most Japanese may not feel comfortable “shouting” out their status, but there definitely is a general desire to stand out in socially acceptable ways. I remember Lexus, for example. Before Toyota started the Lexus brand in Japan, there was a significant market for importing Lexus cars from the US into Japan. Even though the exact same car could be purchased in Japan under a Toyota nameplate and the steering wheel was on the left side instead of the right, many Japanese people still wanted the Lexus. No, conspicuous consumption is alive and well in Japan–it just has to be practiced within socially-acceptable parameters.

    1. I think this is an example of the 25-years ago phenomenon that I referred to earlier. During and just after the bubble, there was some uncharacteristic flaunting by Japanese that was all nouveau-richy and sometimes crass. Yes, newspapers then talked about the appeal of wrong-side drive cars in Japan. Twenty-five years ago.
       Are people here aware that for about twenty years now the moneyed-fashion clothing style has been to look simple and smart?
       Flashing name brands is waaay out of style, looks crass, and it has been for sometime. The Japanese who want to look good are very aware of this and of course elegant simplicity and muted tones, as opposed to extravagance, has long been a hallmark of the culture.
       I really don’t think most foreigners in Japan are anywhere near up-to-date on what social or cultural trends are forming or exist in Japan. The same memes from the Juliana’s era just get recycled. The overwhelming trend, as reported and discussed regularly in Japanese sites and media over the past decade or two, is towards inconspicuous consumption.

       1. Michael, we don’t seem to be talking about the same thing here, and most of our readers are long-term residents. I’m not sure it’s useful to keep repeating the same thing and making comments about “most foreigners in Japan”.

       2. I’m most certainly not talking about the Japan of 25 years ago, as I wasn’t even here then. (Only in my 20th year.) The Lexus example comes from only just over 10 years ago, as the first non-import Lexus cars weren’t sold in Japan until 2005, when they became domestically available in response to demand for the luxury nameplate, as I wrote above. Those with money in Japan do want to stand out–they just want to in a way that is seen as socially acceptable. They’ll get a Lexus over a Toyota for the status symbol, for example, but they’ll still get it in white, black, or grey.

12. Fair enough. Thank you for being diplomatic. I retract the ‘most’ in place of ‘often’ and it only applies to whom it applies.

    1. Hah! I don’t hear ‘diplomatic’ very often…
       Thanks for making my day 🙂