Daily life and social customs
Popular culture
Contemporary Japanese society is decidedly urban. Not only do the vast majority of Japanese live in urban settings, but urban culture is transmitted throughout the country by a mass media largely concentrated in Tokyo. Young urban Japanese in particular have become known for their conspicuous consumption and their penchant for trends and fads that quickly go in and out of fashion.
Modern, usually Western, popular music is ubiquitous in Japan. Jazz, rock, and the blues are enjoyed by the generations of Japanese who were born after World War II, along with half-Westernized or half-Japanized folk and popular songs. Many basically Japanese songs are sung to the accompaniment of Western musical instruments, and many basically
Western subjects are treated in Japanese-style drama or song. Karaoke (in Japanese, literally “empty orchestra”), invented in Japan in the early 1970s, is a popular form of nightlife entertainment.The two orbits around which family life typically revolves are the workplace and school. Role specialization between men and women, once widespread, gradually has been changing. Men traditionally are the family breadwinners, while women are responsible for home finances, child rearing, and care of the extended family; an increasing number of women, the majority of them married, work outside the home, although often in part-time jobs. In rural agricultural areas, women have growing responsibilities in running agricultural operations, since many male heads of household are engaged in full-time employment in manufacturing facilities often at some distance from the family farm.
Entertaining typically is not done at home, in part because of the small size of most Japanese homes and also because much of it is business-related. The commercial landscape of most Japanese cities is among the most diverse and service-oriented in the world, where all manner of food, Japanese or otherwise, can be found. However, because such a large portion of the entertainment sector depends on business clientele, the sector has been subject to downturns in the economy that affect the corporate world.