When an economy changes, society follows. Japan was still an advanced rich country, but I bet they never thought a few economic reverses could have the men go from the hard working, hard drinking company man to the comic book and anime loving herbivore man in one generation. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
The stamp today was drawn by a child showing old style folk dancers. It was a four stamp issue displaying the chosen winners of an international design contest. In addition to the folk dancers, there were butterflies, flowers and a depiction of world peace. Not really my type of thing. The next issue from was Kabuki performers. This issue shows much better what possible from stamp designing professionals and the contrast shows why it might best be left to them.
Todays stamp is issue A1601, a 62 Yen stamp issued by Japan on May 31st, 1991. It was a four stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents used.
In 1989 Emperor Hirohito died and was replaced by his son Akihito as the 125th Japanese Emperor. His period is referred to as the Heisei era. The change coincided with some pretty radical changes in the economy. The economy had grown greatly on an export driven boom that sent Japanese manufactured goods aimed at the middle class around the world but especially to the USA. The resulting foreign exchange greatly boosted the value of the Japanese Yen and with that asset values of stocks and real estate. The hollowing out of the middle class in the USA and elsewhere and the emergence of lower cost South Korea following closely Japan’s playbook had a devastating effect. First the excesses in asset valuation disappeared over night. This reduction in wealth was felt immediately at the individual level. The hollowing out soon reached Japan’s manufacturers and they were not able to sustain practices of lifetime employment that Japan perceived was so central to their superiority. Some may ponder the entitlement involved in just assuming that other places will forever pay for the privilege of Japanese goods in place of their own products. I wonder, as an American, how it was allowed to happen in the first place.
Younger Japanese men no longer had such promising careers to look forward to despite ever higher levels of educational achievement. They took to continuing youthful pursuits such as video games, anime, and comic books. Japan has remained a leader in those fields even as those giant Japanese conglomerates from another era struggle.
So we get to the herbivore man. They are insulted as grass eaters and sexless based on them not marrying or, I guess we have to list this separately now, fathering children. It is however a global truth that women will not marry men if they are not advanced economically by the union. So the marriage and child birth rate declined directly with the collapse in economic opportunity for men. In Japan as in most places, women are ever more in the workforce but there has not been a corresponding growth in out of wedlock births as elsewhere. This may be some evidence of the herbivore slight. Oriental Asian men do have on average lower levels of testosterone. The preponderance of an Asian style diet among American young men facing similar economic challenges has resulted in the “soy boy” slight.
Well my drink is empty and I think my wife and I will have a cheeseburger for dinner. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.