Japanese Women and Social Economy

Here I would like to write about things that I intentionally (for good reasons) didn’t write in the article on J-POP for Japan Mode.

What it is about: it is about the relationship between Japanese economy and the performances of Japanese women. I have touched upon it a little bit in the article, but here I would like to go into the actual mechanism.

But first, let me get started with my personal experience from my earlier days.
When I was small, cute and charming yet somewhat independent and intelligent girl(s) called “The Madonna of the class (year)” were popular among the boys. As the economy started to become better (getting closer to bubble economy which is late 80s to early 90s) strong independent women were starred even in TV programs for kids and people admired women with strong character.

The peak of strong and active women came during the bubble economy, when ladies in short tight skirts stood on the stages of discos and danced as they swung their feathery fans. Men they desired to marry had to fulfill the three “high” conditions, 1) height (tall), 2) education (elite) and 3) income (elite) and there was clearly a structure established in which strong women could choose men who could make their lives even richer. Another aspect of strong women during this time period is represented in the increase in working women, and this is also the time when single mothers and unmarried women increased.

Ok, let me make my point very briefly. During times when the domestic economy is suffering, it is hard for women to keep their jobs even though their equal working status and opportunities are supposed to be protected legally, and instead more women choose to find a husband who can support their lives instead. Staying home were their means for survival.

But as the economy turns better, it becomes easier for women to earn their own livings in the society. In such social circumstance, their urge to find a man to marry fades and as a result more and more independent women who do not try to fawn upon men increases.

This is about up till the bubble economy. I’ll continue with how the situations shifted in the late 90s up until now.