DENTSU DESIRE DESIGN's Approach to Marketing Reconstruction Based on "Theory of Desire" [14]The Unhinged Japanese (Part 2) ~ Society Facing a New Turning Point ~
In this series, members of Dentsu Inc.'s new consumer research project , "DENTSU DESIRE DESIGN (DDD)," introduce consumer insights and approaches centered around "desire."
In Part 1, we covered the growing number of events challenging the long-held image of Japanese people as "punctual," "diligent," "meticulous in their work," "polite," and "kind." We outlined how this led to the consideration that consumers' "restraints have come off," and presented two specific examples: "Restraints come off in a 'real world with raised expectations'" and "Restraints come off with 'motivation that has lost its outlet.'"
This second part adds two more examples and examines where Japan, now showing signs of losing its restraint, is headed next, alongside findings from DDD research.
<Table of Contents>
▼Unleashed Under the Banner of "Justice"
▼Unleashed by an "Unwinnable Game"
▼Over Half of Japanese People Are Now on the Verge of Unleashing
▼Beyond the Unleashed
Under the "Name of Justice," the Restraints Come Off
Many people surely feel that standards of "rightness" have shifted dramatically over the past decade or so. Compliance, gender issues, and other new yardsticks—it's certainly not uncommon for people to struggle to adapt immediately.
Even if they understand intellectually, values ingrained over a long time function like protocols embedded by the era itself. It's common for these to automatically activate and surface in unexpected moments. Each time this happens, those who strongly believe "I must change" often fall into self-loathing, thinking "I did it again." Values aren't something you can easily upgrade like a machine's OS.
Why do people even try to keep up with new values in the first place? Even those who defiantly declare, "I'm just an old-fashioned type!" might have found their place in the past, despite being called stubborn. Going my own way. The idea of sticking to your own path over conformity was understood to some extent, and sometimes even met with respect.
The key point here is likely "the human rights of others." Most values that have seen major shifts in standards recently involve human relationships. Harassment, gender issues—these aren't just about one's own rights, but simultaneously about someone else's rights, and human relationships are embedded within them. New standards are emerging precisely to protect someone's rights. To be more specific: if someone's rights are being violated, we simply won't tolerate it anymore.
Many of the values we now call "new" are actually themes that have always existed in society. We simply looked away, leaving "the vulnerable," "victims," and "those directly affected" in that space. Today, there's a collective societal momentum to prevent them from being hurt further, to no longer tolerate the kind of speech and actions that were previously accepted. Precisely because these are problems that even the supposedly "kind" Japanese overlooked, there is a strong sense of reflection.
However, as mentioned earlier, people's values don't change that easily. In fact, even knowing it's wrong, we might still make such remarks or act that way momentarily and unconsciously. Yet, society no longer tolerates it. Consequently, we must live cautiously, fearing every word and action.
Under such anxious circumstances, it's easy to predict the spread of two prevailing "moods." One is the feeling of "wanting to always be on the right side." The other is the feeling of "being unable to tolerate people who act selfishly."
Precisely because we sometimes slip up ourselves, we proactively criticize others daily to build up the claim that "I understand things properly." This prevents us from facing major criticism when it really matters. And since we live such "polite" lives, tolerating those who act as if they couldn't care less would make our own efforts seem futile. So, we firmly "exclude" such people. When these "moods" combine with the reach and anonymity of the internet, the floodgates can open.
Examples of this "unforgivable" sentiment going too far are now everywhere: the excessive, routine bashing, the problematic private arrests. There seems to be a contradiction where, driven by a kind of righteous indignation, people end up infringing on someone's rights in order to protect someone else. And these actions constantly crave the next "unforgivable entity." Since the root motivation is often to alleviate one's own anxiety, people become anxious if they aren't continuously "unforgiving" towards someone.
So-called nuisance YouTubers, for instance, deliberately position themselves as "unforgivable entities" to generate views and monetize their content. They thrive on controversy, and at this point, the actual parties involved become almost irrelevant.
【The Curious Desire】
→ The desire "to avoid backlash"
※For DDD's analysis of the new "11 Desires," see here
Losing control in an "unwinnable game"
Japan has been mired in stagnation for decades, a period often dubbed the "Lost 30 Years." This means everyone under 30 today has never witnessed Japan's economy thriving.
Adding to the hardship, no matter how desperately Japan struggles from here, the problem of its demographic structure will always stand in the way. As you likely know, Japan's population decline, which began in 2011 due to low birthrates and an aging society, is projected to fall below 90 million by 2070, with those aged 65 and over accounting for about 40% of the total population at that time. (National Institute of Population and Social Security Research "Future Population Projections for Japan" / 2023 Projections)
As the population shrinks, domestic demand naturally dwindles. The decline in the working-age population (those up to 64 years old), which underpins production and consumption, will significantly dampen economic vitality, leading to a cooling economy. The reality is that the fundamental conditions for Japan's future economy are simply too adverse.
Under these circumstances, the conditions one is born with greatly influence one's life. It's what we call the "lottery." Unlike the high-growth era, where persistent effort often paid off, in a society where the ground is sinking so much that even considerable effort gets absorbed, initial conditions become paramount. Incidentally, even high academic credentials, often seen as advantageous for landing jobs at major corporations, frequently correlate with the family's economic situation and the parents' educational background. In other words, even the very conditions that allow one to make an effort depend on the "parent lottery," before the effort itself even begins.
While the economy continues to stagnate, the one consistently robust sector is the stock market. Just recently, the Nikkei average hit a new record high. The government actively encourages investment for personal wealth accumulation. However, it goes without saying that investing requires initial capital. Since investments aren't guaranteed to succeed, one cannot risk funds that would be devastating if lost.
Data shows that over the past decade, the number of wealthy individuals in Japan (those holding over ¥100 million in net financial assets) has doubled. Wealthy individuals and those with substantial salaries use their abundant capital to grow their personal funds. It's truly a case of wealth begetting wealth. However, this wealthy class constitutes less than 3% of the population – a truly select few.
Even when free competition appears to exist, the winners are restricted to a tiny minority from the start. Or rather, they weren't even allowed to enter the game in the first place. Being "diligent" and "meticulous at work" was only possible because there was some hope ahead. In a society where no amount of effort pays off, even past hard work risks becoming a source of self-loathing.
https://www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/app/uploads/2022/03/new_pr_20220323_03.pdf )
If things haven't worked for so long, shouldn't we conclude the rules are wrong? Why not just wipe the slate clean? Wouldn't it be far fairer if everyone started from zero? Those who arrive at this way of thinking logically, and of their own volition, shed the shackles of conventional values and common sense. This marks the birth of the so-called "invincible people."
People don't just give up on themselves so easily. That's precisely why, if someone has reached that point, there must have been a very powerful reason. As seen in the global "empathy" people felt for the villain in the movie "Joker," inequality is indeed widening overseas too. But especially in Japan, a country that was once an economic powerhouse and had a sense of being a nation of 100 million middle-class citizens, the widening gap and prolonged economic stagnation may have caused deeper psychological wounds than imagined.
Why would someone deliberately upload footage of disruptive behavior in a restaurant online? Even thinking calmly, it's hard to find a convincing answer. Even if it was a momentary prank, it should be easy to imagine that posting it online would cause significant damage to oneself. They must also realize it could severely damage the restaurant's reputation and cost them their job. Yet, similar incidents persist. The mindset of "I have nothing to lose" or "I just want it all to end" might even override their basic survival instincts.
It seems like more than half of Japanese people are on the verge of losing their inhibitions.
As illustrated by several examples so far, the phenomenon of Japanese people "losing their inhibitions" seems to be occurring frequently in society in various forms. And figures supporting this were also evident in our DDD survey results ( survey overview here ).
More than one in two Japanese people reported experiencing moments when they felt like they were about to lose control. Focusing specifically on those in their 10s to 40s, this proportion increases to about 60%. While we anticipated a fairly high figure, our honest reaction was that it was more than we expected.
This widespread feeling, occurring across all genders and ages among Japanese people, seems likely triggered by influences from Japanese society as a whole.
Constant pressures beyond individual control—like Japan's prolonged economic stagnation with no clear exit, adapting to drastically shifting values, and the constant visibility and connectivity of online networks like social media—have steadily encroached on daily life. This relentless pressure has gradually pushed us to the edge, leaving us Japanese people with no margin for error.
The COVID-19 pandemic experience seems to have made this awareness even more acute. It was like a sudden, global-scale social burden hitting us when our cups were already nearly full. Faced with that force, individuals' daily lives were inevitably transformed, leading us to keenly feel the immense impact of social pressures.
The repeated fury of massive natural disasters in recent years may also have played a role. The experience of seeing "no matter how much you build up, it can collapse in an instant before a great force" was repeated and widely shared. This seems to have made it harder to value daily efforts, blurred the ethical standards and common sense we once held dear, and allowed thoughts like "as long as I'm okay, that's all that matters" (or sometimes even "I don't care about myself either") to start creeping into our minds.
Fundamentally, we strive to make our lives better and richer. But when the burdens imposed by society become overwhelming, the small, daily accumulations get swallowed up, buried, and rendered worthless. If this resulting resignation is what caused the Japanese to "lose their restraint," then what exactly will become of us going forward?
Beyond the Unhinged
Japanese people who've lost control. Japanese people on the verge of losing control. And Japanese people who've witnessed others losing control. Regardless of their position, each must have faintly sensed the lack of leeway in Japanese society and felt a significant sense of crisis, thinking, "We've finally lost control." Because the image of "Japanese people who've lost control" is not the ideal they themselves aspired to be ( from Part 1 ).
Yet simultaneously, there is empathy for those who lose control. As fellow individuals navigating similarly strained lives, a small resonance emerges: "What they're doing is wrong, but I understand how they feel." Holding these conflicting emotions, where are the Japanese headed?
If we're not careful, we risk continuing to avert our eyes from society's broader structures and long-term challenges, ultimately landing on the conclusion that it's solely the fault of the individuals who "lost control" – a position of personal responsibility. Given our national character, which inherently values restrained virtues, it's a very plausible choice to label those who step outside these bounds as "slack," "weak," or "losers," criticizing them as a way to cheer ourselves on as we barely hold on.
Especially when it comes to actually confronting problems and tackling solutions, the inevitable social costs and personal burdens involved create a psychological barrier – the feeling that there's simply no room for that. Yet choosing this path ultimately leads to an endless chicken race of sheer endurance. Frankly, this is a direction we should avoid if possible.
If we look at this optimistically, I'd point out the potential for a significant shift in consciousness toward "We must fix society." The situation spiraled out of control precisely because long-term societal problems, beyond the reach of individual effort, were neglected. It would be contradictory to then leave this situation back to individual discretion. Therefore, a rising momentum of "We must fix society" is a natural progression. Responding individually to every incident caused by people who have lost control is endless. In a sense of "I'm fed up," there is potential for moving toward fundamental solutions.
For example, voter turnout in Japan's national elections in recent years hasn't reached 60%, and in local elections, it's fallen below 50%. However, these numbers might start to rise. People who previously thought, "Let's just hand it all over to the authorities," might regret that the results of that hands-off approach have led us to this point. If this triggers a shift where they think, "We can't just leave it to them anymore," and more people start wanting to participate more in politics and the economy, that might not be a bad thing.
Furthermore, calls for legal frameworks governing online speech—which has largely escaped significant regulation since its emergence—may intensify. While platforms already enforce their own rules, like account restrictions based on reports, these are seen as wholly inadequate. Demands for major reforms, such as "banning anonymous accounts" or "penalties for fake news," could emerge. Japan's relatively lax internet regulations may face a significant turning point here.
In any case, it seems inevitable that Japanese society will soon be forced to confront long-standing, unresolved issues head-on. And this, in turn, will influence the desires of each individual.
Desires sensitively respond to shifts in societal values, transforming in shape, and these new desires then act upon societal values. Within this cycle, I can't help but sense we are approaching a major turning point. DDD will continue to carefully investigate and analyze this relationship between desire and societal values.
[Survey Overview]
7th Survey on Emotionally Driven Consumption
＜7th "Heart-Moving Consumption Survey" Overview＞
・Target Area: Nationwide, Japan
・Subject Criteria: Men and women aged 15–74
・Sample Size: Total 3,000 samples (allocated according to population ratio across 7 age groups: 15-19, 20s-60s, 70-74, and 2 gender categories)
・Survey Method: Online survey
・Survey Period: Wednesday, November 1, 2023 – Monday, November 6, 2023
・Survey Sponsor: Dentsu Inc. DENTSU DESIRE DESIGN
・Survey Agency: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.
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Author
Hayato Yamagami
Dentsu Inc.
By mastering three fields—creative, promotion, and PR—we design communications that seamlessly integrate paid, earned, and shared media. Our scope spans from zero-yen sampling to ¥10 million luxury goods, brand consulting, and now SDGs initiatives. My hobby is solving problems—hence, I absolutely love helping people in need.
