Japanese women’s passion for brand goods has the same roots as Japanese militarism
While major Japanese mass media including newspaper companies and television stations cover news from all over Japan, there is not much difference in the content of their news. This means that Japanese in Japan are receiving very similar information. This greatly influences the promotion of the already common values among the mono-cultural Japanese. It often drives them to react to events in very similar ways.
It is well-known that Japanese women are very fond of brand products. Japanese women commonly buy brand goods based on the advice of popular fashion leaders and magazines. This occurs not only in the field of fashion products, but also in many different fields from food to entertainment. It is said that the homogeneous Japanese have a mentality that makes them want to catch up with others.
For foreign enterprises, the Japanese market must be very attractive as they can expect to sell products in large quantities. However, on the other hand, Japanese people have another side to their character which can be described as “easily warmed up but just as easily cooled down.” Since they are apt to purchase brand products based on the influence of others rather than because they themselves actually love the products, they easily lose interest in them.
In peaceful present day Japan, it is very difficult to imagine that Japan was once a very militaristic country. However, it is safe to say that this militant trait has essentially the same roots as that of Japanese women who are persuaded to buy brand products.