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Big in Japan: Why 30 is the new 20
Love it or hate it, the HBO series Sex and the City was a global phenomenon that redefined cultural stereotypes of single women in their 30s.From 1998 to 2003, millions of viewers the world over tuned it for the latest exploits of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda, who challenged the notion that single life for older women was anything other than fabulous and fun.
While American audiences needed a bit of persuasion to admit that 30 was perhaps the new 20, Japanese women were quick to embrace the notion of aging gracefully outside the restrictive confines of marriage.
Indeed, there's even a new word to describe a fashionable and sophisticated single woman in her thirties, namely arasa (????), which is short for aranundo sati, the Japanese pronunciation for 'around thirty.'
While Japanese government bureaucrats - the vast majority of whom are male - are scrambling to solve the problem of Japan's declining birth rate and aging population, Japanese women are increasingly embracing the freedom of unmarried life.
In fact, they're currently being targeted by some of Japan's most prominent brand name stores and boutiques, which are slowly realizing that older women have much more purchasing power than fickle teeny-boppers.
If you happen to be 'aranudo sati,' keep on reading for more info...
It wasn't too long ago in Japan that turning 25 was something of a death-sentence for unmarried women.Believe it or not, unmarried women in their late 20s and early 30s were once commonly referred to as Christmas cakes (クリスマスケーキ, kurisumasukekki). Since you tend to throw away uneaten Christmas cakes after December 25th, the sick punch line is that unmarried women beyond the age of 25 have little value to society.
Wow. That's harsh...
Of course, all of this is changing, especially since sexy older women are now gracing the covers of Japanese fashion magazines that were once reserved exclusively for teenage models. Stores and boutiques in fashionable neighborhoods such as Ginza and Ometesandou in Tokyo are increasingly shunning younger shoppers, preferring to market exclusively to the padded wallets of older, single women.
While Japanese men will certainly have to face the reality of declining marriage prospects, Japanese women seem to be embracing the personal and financial power and freedom that comes with being financially stable and single.
Arasa women have even coined their own word for mature sexiness, namely otona-gyaru (大人ギャル, grown-up gal), which signifies the transformation from Harajuku and Shibuya-themed youth fashion to the fabulous world of single adulthood.
Of course, not everyone is happy with the latest consumer trend sweeping across the country. On the contrary, Japan's declining birthrate and aging population is a serious issue that is threatening to collapse one of the world's most powerful economies.
However, while politicians in Tokyo's Diet argue and bicker about the best course of action for convincing women to settle down, arasa are breaking with tradition, and flexing their growing consumer might.
Perhaps Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda had it right all along - 30 really is the new 20.
Filed under: Asia, Japan, Big in Japan
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Secret Asian Man Aug 27th 2008 12:45PM
I remember back in 10th grade I had a Japanese teacher who was an "exchange teacher" from Kobe, Japan. She was ridiculously hot. She also turned 25. The funny thing was she kept making a big deal about how old she's getting. "Ugh... I am a quarter of a century old... Ugh... this makes me sad..."
Now us students thought she was just joking so we kinda egged her on. Though we were quick to reassure her anyway. I mean she's freakin' hot and actually doesn't look 25. On our first day, we thought she was a very well-dressed exchange student!
She was a great teacher who not only taught us the language, she also taught us the culture. Often she'd hold extra-curricular activities such as field trips to various Japanese cultural events or even invited us to her apartment and teach us Japanese crafts and cooking.
Of course she taught us about courtship in Japan, or rather the lack of it. You bet some of us male students wanted to court her!
After two years, she returned to Japan and I have no doubt she got married.
sh21 Aug 28th 2008 3:48AM
Interesting article. 30 years old seemed to always be a time of consternation for unmarried Japanese women when I used to live there.
Minor point: I think the phrase should be アラサー (arasa-) from アラウンドサーティ (araundo sa-tei - with the last i being a small i)
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/アラサー
sh_21 Aug 28th 2008 3:52AM
Interesting article. 30 years old seemed to always be a time of consternation for unmarried Japanese women when I used to live there.
Minor point: I think the phrase should be %u30A2%u30E9%u30B5%u30FC (arasa-) from %u30A2%u30E9%u30A6%u30F3%u30C9%u30B5%u30FC%u30C6%u30A3 (araundo sa-tei - with the last i being a small i)
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%u30A2%u30E9%u30B5%u30FC
Matthew Firestone Aug 28th 2008 5:23AM
Thanks for spotting my 日本語 mistake - I made a point of adding the (-) to アラサー。
And you're right - 30 is still very much a time of consternation for a good number of Japanese women, though things are changing, especially given that the population is aging, the cost of living is rising and the prospects of a happy marriage are dwindling.