ABSTRACT
The government has proposed a ‘novel’ and ‘different’ approach that has revolved around the construct of ‘metabolic syndrome’ to validate political and medical action, as well as to acknowledge that the obesity crisis effectively affects Japan too. In disentangling how novel and different the Japanese approach to control obesity and overweight was the concept of ‘biopedagogy’, which was inspired by the Foucauldian theorising on ‘biopower’—the techniques aimed to subjugate the body and control populations at large—was instrumental. In order to (re) control body weight an autodidactic self requires motivational and positive support, which suggested the sociality of engaging in a regime to prevent or control obesity and overweight. Exploring the somatic self of the men who have been diagnosed as at high-risk of suffering from metabolic syndrome and/or dabbed ‘chubby’ (debu) hinted how official attempts to de-medicalise obesity and overweight have been largely fruitless.
