ABSTRACT
In Japan today, ‘the technologies of governmentality produce a citizenry to serve the policies of neoliberalism through the linking of the capitalist state and the ideology of consumerism’ (Galbraith and Karlin 2012: 19). This chapter covers the rise of consumer culture in Japan over the past century, examining the factors that led to the development of a hyper-capitalist society characterized by a highly saturated media environment. From the postwar mobilization of big capital to the shift from family-based consumption to individualistic and highly gender-specific consumption practices, consumerism has become a central tenet of Japanese society.
