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street luxury brandsNeojaponisme, Mutantfrog postswomen who once bought high-ticket luxury items are now dressing like rodeo clownsMany socialists and commentators have tried to analyze the Japanese fixation on cuteness. One claim says that individual acting childish harbors the need to be liked by others. In the Japanese society, as the young spend more time with computers, they tend to be isolated, fueling loneliness and the desire for making friends. Thus, they take part in the cute trend as a way to be accepted in society. The problem with this argument is that the convenience of Internet emails and the popularity of cell phones actually bring the Japanese more than ever in touch with one another, contrary to the perception of isolation. Another conclusion states that Japanese women with a long history of being socially oppressed would most likely embrace cuteness to fulfill their proper role. But, there exist many Asian and African male-dominant societies that haven't followed the Japanese trend. The obvious flaw in this analysis is that an oppressed womans position could never be equated with a childs position a woman and a child have two distinctive roles in society.
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Yet, another view claims that the younger generation is in rebellion against the traditional values of Japanese lifestyle. By being juvenile, the young defy to grow up and meet their austere life in work, family and social responsibility in the footsteps of their parents. Maybe, the cause of the youth statement lies not in a revolt against the adult life but in the refusal to give up the pampered, materialistic childhood lifestyle to which they were accustomed. The baby-boom generation, which had achieved affluence during the economic bubble years, spoiled their children with material goods and ample amusement while neglected to teach morals and values to prepare them for entering society.

Its not surprising that in a cute culture that has emphasized consumerism, pleasure and indulgence, mounting social ills, partly due to economic difficulties and partly due to the youth shirking responsibility, has been plaguing Japan. The declining interest in work ethics, marriage, or social commitment among the young has been on a rise, spawning a series of economical problems for Japan. A rapid growing trend among young workers known as "freeters" drifting from one parttime job to another poses a threat to the workforce stability for companies because these short-termed employees miss out opportunities to receive systematic job education and proper training. While some freeters choose to work temporarily until they could realize their dreams in the future, many others enjoy the flexible and easy-going lifestyle, as they remain financially dependent on their parents. In addition, Japan has a high rate of "parasite singles," grown children in their 20s and 30s (more than 60 percent) who are unmarried and working but still living at home with their parents. Furthermore, as eligible young women inclined to delay marriages for more personal freedom, birth rates have been dropping every year. Moreover, the Japanese government reported an unexpected first-ever deficit for the national pension program in fiscal 2003, declaring that 51.4 percent of those aged between 20 and 24 hadnt paid their pension premiums. Facing a dwindling stable workforce and a growing aging population, the government is now pushing for a controversial pension reform to an increasing discontent public. Eventually, the baby-boom generation will no longer be around or run out of money to support the cute culture youths. Then, the harsh reality of traditional values will hit home life is not a bowl of cherries. The young generation will then have to follow the footsteps of their parents to bear the heavy burden of supporting society.
Kyoichi Tsuzukis photographs