http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/1...NT20110215




A graduate of the prestigious University of Tokyo's economics
department, Keishiro Kurabayashi could have joined a blue-chip firm and
begun climbing the corporate ladder. Instead, he interned at DeNA, then
a fledgling start-up and now a successful social networking and mobile
gaming firm.

"I thought it was like a rule - I would graduate from Tokyo University,
enter a foreign consulting firm and after years of study might be ready
to start my own firm," said the 29-year-old. "The people at DeNA were
really smart, but they weren't caught up with rules, and that was fun

"That was a big turning point for me," said Kurabayashi, who now runs
his own firm.

Kurabayashi is one of Japan's "20-something" generation: many born
during a heady "bubble economy" they can't recall, coming of age in an
era of sliding national status and eyeing retirement when, many predict,
the country's economic sun will have set.

The fracturing of the post-World War Two system that propelled Japan's
economy to the No. 2 global spot -- a status now lost to China -- has
pushed many of his cohorts to seek security by trying to cling to what
remains. But for many others, the uncertainty itself is giving birth to
a do-it-yourself mindset that could generate welcome dynamism.

From the article:

Quote:"If we expect the country to take care of us, we may end up not being able to make a living," says Megumi Kawashima ... "We should be sensible enough to know we need to take care of ourselves,"

I like this mindset of people taking care of themselves, not depend entirely on external entities like their 9-6 jobs, bosses, government, whatever. The article calls for more entrepreneurs; that is sensible. And the victim mentality of employees and women mentioned in the article (and in many other places, at deeper levels), I think, will not get them anywhere. This is not just a Japan thing; it seems that most of the world likes to play the victim card, the "I work so hard but they don't pay me enough", "they treat me differently for being <characteristic>", "the society expects that <gender> do this and that, and that's the root of all problems," and so on. May be true, but complaining and not acting (that is, doing what you should do despite the opposition) has ever worked? And I believe much of what people see as external opposition nowadays in developed countries are either mental barriers, lack of knowledge, or magnifying what only a few loud and obnoxious people say.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/07/09/the-g...-of-japan/
The entire article is copied here:

"The grass-eating boys of Japan

The young men, called herbivores, don’t want sex
by Katie Engelhart on Thursday, July 9, 2009 4:40pm

Herbivore: a Japanese man who saves money, shuns sex, has a penchant for nice clothing, and prefers a quieter, less competitive lifestyle. This new class of young men is taking hold in Japan. They are soushoku danshi—translated to “grass-eating boys” or, more commonly, “herbivores.” The term was coined in 2006 by pop culture columnist Maki Fukasawato to describe men who challenged traditional ideas about Japanese masculinity. “In Japan, sex is translated as ‘relationship in flesh,’ ” she explains. “So I named those boys ‘herbivorous boys’ since they are not interested in flesh.”

But sex isn’t all that herbivores reject. Just as they disdain old-fashioned alpha males, they scoff at the status-conscious consumerism of their parents’ generation. Grass-eating boys aren’t big spenders and they don’t take flashy vacations. They are close to their mothers, prefer platonic relationships with female friends, are attentive to their appearance and have fewer career ambitions. A subsidiary of Dentsu, Japan’s largest advertising agency, estimates that 60 per cent of men in their 20s consider themselves grass-eaters.

That has people buzzing. Reports chart men’s spending on cosmetics and hair products and bemoan the symbolic castration that young men so eagerly embrace. Toilet-maker Matsushita Electric Works announced that more than 40 per cent of men in Japan sit on the toilet while urinating. WishRoom—a Tokyo company—has started selling men’s bras. “What is happening to the nation’s manhood?” asked social critic Takuro Moringa.

Critics charge that herbivores are at the root of Japan’s sluggish birthrate and floundering consumer culture. As well as rejecting the masculine, materialist culture that took off during the ’80s, herbivores are also a long way from the archetypical corporate company men who defined their fathers’ postwar era. Still, Japanese women aren’t ready to let the grass-eaters triumph just yet. Since men are prepared to be passive, new flocks of aggressive “carnivorous girls” have emerged to take charge themselves."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While not strictly about economics or politics, it is about the social side of things. Is this all of Japan? Of course not. But I do think it is interesting, nonetheless.

Edit because she didn't romanize 男子 properly and to put the article text in italics.

Eastwood Wrote:http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/07/09/the-g...-of-japan/
"The grass-eating boys of Japan
The young men, called herbivores, don’t want sex

I've mostly heard them called them called "vegetarians" here in the Kansai area. Which really irritates me as I am a vegetarian and know better. If some aren't aware of it yet, vegetarians are often also involved with the polyamory movement and familiar with Tantric sex techniques, and are in all aspects imaginable, some of the most erotically enthusiastic people on the planet.

Sooooo, a herbivore = homosexual...??? or maybe herbivore = metrosexual...

Hmm, I've told some of my Japanese friends that I'm vegan and received 草食系男子 jokes in return.

thecite Wrote:Hmm, I've told some of my Japanese friends that I'm vegan and received 草食系男子 jokes in return.

Yeah, I'd avoid making statements like that in Japan. Or, if you do and you're associated with the herbivore/vegetarian movment in Japan (which, by the sound of it, isn't strictly about being a vegetarian in the sense that most westerners think about it [i.e., not eating meat]), make sure that you follow up and show that you are not a part of that group in the sense that　草食男子 is, apparently, a lifestyle in Japan whereas for non-Japanese, I think, being a vegetarian probably just means that you don't eat meat... not that you don't want to have sex and dislike being competitive/competition.

Usually, once you associate yourself with a group in Japan, that's your thing. You're kind of pigeon-holed because that's how most Japanese people are brought up and treated. You find your group and that's what you do and with whom you associate. Being involved in 2, 3, 4 or more activities/groups like westerners sometimes are can seem a bit, well... foreign or strange to Japanese people because that's not how the group oriented society here works. And I'm speaking in vast, sweeping generalizations here, so, of course this does not apply to everyone that you will meet in Japan.

Anyone else have experience with this or know any "herbivores" that "are at the root of Japan’s sluggish birthrate and floundering consumer culture"? Or vice versa?

I second what you said though Eastwood.

When I was in Japan on homestay everyone had ONE activity and hung out mostly with those people.

"Baseball players. Tennis club girls. Band players." They make an effort to make friends with each other and stick together a lot.