People lining up at the opening of a Louis Vuitton store in Tokyo

"My hobby is shopping."

Many an English conversa- tion teacher and probably a few other English- speaking foreigners have heard this phrase in the process of getting to know their Japanese students and friends. Alice Teramoto, a former Nova teacher in Kanazawa-shi, reckons that up to 80% of her students uttered those infamous words in class. At first blush it seems innocuous and perhaps even quaint until you realize that the Japanese do, in fact, incorporate a lot shopping into their free time. Or perhaps what's more unusual is that they discuss it so enthusiastically.

In North America, a greater awareness of our environmental and social impact has seeped into the consciousness of the average shopper somewhat tempering that enthusiasm. Debates have raged for over a decade on the nature of capitalism, on the ethics of advertising to children and on the ad-creep that has invaded our public washrooms, school cafeterias and university campuses. Led by anti-establishment forces like Adbusters, David Suzuki and Naomi Klein, North America has become fertile ground for a global corporate and consumer culture backlash.

However, in Japan the story seems quite different. Many families spend their precious few days off work at the mall. Young women strive to save enough money to buy at least one brand item hoping to fit in with their peer group. Schools go on class trips to significant cultural and historical sites, but always seem to have time for omiyage-browsing and print club photos. And then there's the all-important importation of foreign celebrities who perform in advertisements they wouldn't be caught dead doing at home. Clearly, there is a cultural divide on this issue.

Creative resistance from Adbuster

Weighing in with some insights into modern-day Japan's consumer culture is Kalle Lasn, the publisher and founder of Adbusters Media Foundation and its magazine. "Post-war Japan had a dynamic spirit," began Lasn, "and I was very impressed with how well the society worked. However, Western industrialization seemed to zap the indigenous Japanese culture. It was like a cherry blossom and couldn't withstand the onslaught."

Lasn believes Japan's collective spirit was one of the biggest casualties as the country westernized. The Japanese moved away from their concern for society as a whole to more of an individual focus on personal wants. This could be seen as the impetus for the success of brands and useless consumer products like keitai accessories.

Lasn's analysis stems from an experience with Japan that originated over thirty years ago and continues to the present day.

"I came to Japan in 1965 to run a marketing research company," he explained. "I also produced documentaries about the local culture that were aired on PBS. Now I have a Japanese wife and sometimes interns from Japan come to work at the magazine." Thus, he is speaking from experience and presumably from the heart when he refers to contemporary Japan as a "culture not capable of learning."

Lest anyone regard Lasn as a Japan-basher, it would only be fair to point out that he levels some of his strongest criticism at North America and the United States in particular. "The United States is past its peak. Decadence and an easy life have made Americans lose the values of the early republic. I feel America has had its day," said Lasn. Furthermore, it was in Canada where Lasn's disgust with corporate culture crystallized.

"In the late 1980s, the Forest Association of British Columbia created a campaign that told the public what a wonderful job they were doing of managing B.C.'s forests," he recalls. "Together with some fellow environmentalists we came up with thirty-second [television] spots to tell the other side of the story." Sadly their attempt to buy airtime and educate the public was denied by the television stations they approached. This became the "big moment" in the genesis of Adbusters Media Foundation.

Today, the Foundation defines itself as "a global network of artists, activists, writers, pranksters, students, educators and entrepreneurs who want to advance the new social activist movement of the information age." Its aim is to "topple existing power structures and forge a major shift in the way we will live in the 21st century."

The means used to achieve these goals take on a variety of forms including hoaxing, audio agitprop, billboard banditry, guerilla semiotics and zines that can all be considered elements of "culture jamming". The flag bearing website www.adbusters.org maintains a collection of past "creative resistance" that illustrates just how seriously these globally dispersed culture jammers take their cause.

Buy Nothing Day poster

From those early years, aided by the efforts of these jammers, an increasing awareness has emerged in many developed countries regarding the impact of our lifestyle on our mental health, less-developed societies and the planet in general. In contrast, a cursory glance at Japan would seem to suggest that it has not yet welcomed this movement with open arms. Lasn lays some of that responsibility at the feet of today's Japanese youth.

"The interns I have met at Adbusters and the occasional reporter from Japanese newspapers who come to interview me don't seem to get what we are doing here," he said. "They seem to have lost the passion for life. They have one foot in American consumer culture and one foot in the old Japanese ways. They don't know where they stand now."

It is in stark contrast to the student protest movement of the late 1960s when students championed causes such as the farmers who were displaced to build Narita International Airport. They went so far as to attack the parliament, the American embassy, police headquarters and Shinjuku railway station. It seems as though the authority symbols of today - including corporations and brands - are getting a much easier ride in comparison. This is also a strong contrast with the West where a succession of youth-led protests started at the WTO gathering in Seattle.

Nevertheless, the challenges facing culture jammers are similar on both sides of the Pacific, especially with regard to airing commercials that encourage people to "buy nothing". In North America Lasn approached national broadcasters like MTV, ABC and CTV where he was told that their policies prevent them from accepting controversial ads. In Japan, he had a Buy Nothing Day spot translated into a 30-second Japanese advertisement and approached TBS with US $25,000 to buy some airtime. The station was extremely eager to do business until they actually watched the commercial. Afterwards, they couldn't understand why anyone would want to show such an advertisement and refused to accept it. Thus, it's obvious that institutions in Japan aren't alone as they protect the hand that feeds them in these culture wars.

And while Westerners can partially be blamed for bringing their consumer culture and all its downsides to Japan, perhaps they can also be credited for initiating the buzz that will ultimately question its importance. A loose coalition of culture jammers has coalesced around the annual event that is Buy Nothing Day.

Buy Nothing Day in Kyoto November 29, 2003

Originated by Adbusters in 1992, Buy Nothing Day came to Kyoto on Nov. 26, 1999 under the guidance of Gabriele Hadl. On that day, shoppers emerged from the Hankyu Department store on Kawaramachi-dori and were confronted with a meditating Zenta Claus who hoped to remind people of the value of "things you cannot buy" and to enjoy the day without damaging the earth. Since then, Zenta Claus has been busy inspiring an army of foreign and Japanese elves to join the cause. From Okinawa to Tokyo, there is a growing army of culture jammers who are looking for ways to raise these issues and have fun without spending a yen.

Hadl explains that reactions to Zenta Claus have been quite varied, "One of the more amusing reactions comes from guilt-ridden shoppers who come up to us and exclaim that they've already bought something today and didn't know it was Buy Nothing Day! After they realize it's not an official holiday they feel relieved."

On a more serious note, Hadl said, "Unlike some protesters in the United States we were never physically harmed. The most negative responses we get are questions about the economy - isn't it bad for the economy?" This thought-provoking question would seem to fit in with Hadl's goal of "not to destroy the economy wholesale but to rethink economics."

She also found that, perhaps in contrast to Lasn, many Japanese youth recognize their nation's problems but are prevented by their parents' generation from ascending to the levers of power to make the necessary changes. These young adults place the blame squarely on people in their 50s and 60s who have "a disregard for traditional things". Thus, both Hadl and Lasn would seem to agree that over-consumption in Japan was heavily influenced by American or other foreign values.

When the question of whether this type of culture jamming would exist in Japan without foreign initiative is put to him, Lasn's gut instinct is that "many of these [Buy Nothing Day] things that have happened in Japan are catalyzed by foreigners who then attract a few like-minded Japanese." Hadl added, "A lot of the eco-movements are influenced or directly founded by a gaijin." This has given her an immediate goal of attracting more Japanese to her movement and trying to integrate further into the fabric of the community.

For his part, Lasn wholeheartedly endorses the principle that culture jamming is most effective when it adapts to local cultures and isn't directed by some sort of Adbusting CEO. And perhaps Japan is actually ahead of its developed country cousins as its per capita ecological footprint is "roughly half" of a Canadian's or American's. While BND and civil disobedience might not be the Japanese way, other loose organizations of housewives or parents cut across the whole culture and provide a more benign process of exchanging ideas, which could include reducing waste.

Perhaps this intersection of foreign culture jamming and informal Japanese societal organizations is where dialogue about Japan's consumer culture impact will mature. Regardless it will be interesting to see how culture jamming in Japan grows and changes to meet the challenges it faces in Japanese society.

For more information about Adbusters and Kalle Lasn please visit www.adbusters.org.
For more information about Buy Nothing Day Japan and Gabriele Hadl please visit www.bndjapan.org.