WIT Life #149: 成人の日
Japan Trends, Translating/Interpreting, Uncategorized, WIT Life, Writers 
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Yesterday Japan celebrated 成人の日 (seijin no hi) or Coming of Age Day, and 1.24 million youngsters took part in this celebration (成人式 or seijinshiki). This was the lowest number of participants ever, and the fourth straight year in which the number of 20-year olds has declined. This morning’s news interviewed the 1500 or so Chiba youths who were lucky enough to have their ceremony at Disneyland. They were asked how they felt about becoming adults, and the majority expressed uncertainty regarding their future and being able to find jobs. This year’s group was born in 1990 when the economic bubble burst, and they have grown up with a struggling Japan. Armed with newfound drinking, smoking and voting privileges, hopefully they will be able to find their way in the world.
In other news, an article in today’s New York Times outlines the difficulties Facebook has found trying to get a foothold in Japan. It highlights how a big part of the problem is privacy issues, as most Japanese SNS users tend to contribute anonymously, rarely posting pictures of themselves or sharing other identifying factors. Their virtual presence is less a way of complementing their real life but instead a way of escaping it, and they prefer sites such as the leading Mixi that allow them to do this. According to a survey of 2130 Japanese mobile Web users, 89% of respondents said that they were reluctant to disclose their real names. This is a significant hurdle that Facebook will have to overcome in order to gain popularity in Japan.
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