Surreal Combination of Old Businesmen, Young Girls, and a Mascot

When I was still living in Japan, I didn’t think anything of it, but being away for over 20 years, this video epitomizes the surreal nature of the Japanese business world. I’m not sure how it came about, but the Japanese love mascots. That in itself is not so strange—everyone loves cute things, especially women—but what is strange about Japan is that mascots are a very well accepted part of the corporate culture. And, often the mascots look as if they were designed for kindergarten kids. In this video, you see these stodgy old businessmen introducing their new mascot to the press. It appears to me that the only reason why they have these girls standing next to the mascot is because it would look absurd if this infantile mascot was standing alone with these old men. The girls serve as a bridge between the 5-year old mentality and the 50-year old mentality.

In Japan, old businessmen are supposed to embrace young female employees to behave like 12-year-olds. It’s seen as fatherly love. If you are a real professional woman, it must be rather difficult to maneuver in this type of atmosphere. Every age group and gender has a strong stereotype that everyone is expected to conform to. In this sense, when the Westerners say “all look the same”, it’s hard to argue, because they actually do want to look and behave the same. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but it is certainly not for me personally. I’m happy to observe the surreal world of Japan from New York.