Many Japanese women fork out
over USD10,000 for their shimmering
kimonos, and beauty treatments and
hair appointments are booked up to a
year in advance, adding an additional
few hundred dollars to the lofty bill.
Salons open for 24 hours, Hello Kitty
designs dominate the accessories of
choice. Japanese cities are a heady fog
of hairspray and perfume.
Thousands of 20-year-olds flock to
theme parks: Disneyland teems with
selfie sticks and photo opportunities
with Mickey Mouse, and over 4,
people crowd Tokyo’s Toshimaen
amusement park, clustered into pods
of pouting peace signs.
But while assembling in the
popular theme parks to hang out
with cartoon characters may seem
like a rather childish way to celebrate
newfound adult legality, the candy
floss is soon traded in for harder tack
as celebrants flock towards the strips
of glittering parties, finally flashing
their laminated identification cards
and sailing past bouncers into the
cities’ heaving nightclubs.
That is not to say that custom
has flown the coop completely in the
contemporary practice: Many young
adults still offer prayers at shrines
across Japan over the holiday. Town
halls host ceremonies, filled with
families and friends.
After attending a purification
ceremony with a Shinto priest, many
young men and women hang up ema –
small wooden plaques with inscribed
prayers and wishes – at Shinto shrines
in the hope of blessings from the kami
(spirits) for their life ahead. Many
Japanese use the time to reflect on
their transformation into adulthood
and the associated responsibilities
that will separate them from their
teenage years.
But amidst the glitz and glam
and the fashion, there’s a more
sombre undertone coursing beneath
the overt hedonism of the occasion:Youth unemployment in Japan has
increased, and 2017 saw the lowest
number of new adults recorded since
the government started keeping
demographic statistics in 1968,
decreasing by 50,000 compared to
2016’s estimate. While that may be
viewed in a positive light given the
global overpopulation problem, the
declining birth rate presents a problem
for development, as Japan’s society is
dominated by an ageing population.
Still, on Seijin-no-Hi, the statistics
are drowned out by the squeals of
excitable women and the clinking of
overflowing sake glasses. Speaking
to Agence France Presse, 20-year-old
Reiko Nakamura admits: “I did think
‘Yikes, I’m an adult’ when I turned 20.
I have to think about my future so it’s
a little scary.” However, caught up in
the spirit of the occasion, she gushes:
“But, for now, I just want to enjoy a
night out drinking with friends.” agin this DAy AnD Age
Youth unemployment
in Japan is at
4.9 percent
in 2017An estimated
1.21 million
people came of age in
January 2017In 2017, the number of
new adults decreased by
50,
compared to 2016The annual birth rate
dropped to below
1 million
in 2017The number of 20-year-
olds is expected to fall to
1.06 million
by 2025In 2017, the number
of new adults is half of
what it was at its peak –
2.46 million – in 1970620,000 590,men womenHello Kitty designs
dominate the accessories
of choice. Japanese
cities are a heady fog of
hairspray and perfume2016 2017ê50,*Data courtesy of Japan Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry and the National Institute of Population and Social Security ResearchIMAGE © SHUTTERSTOCK