Baby showers, a mainly American tradition of holding special parties for expectant mothers to celebrate the imminent arrival of their babies, are gradually gaining popularity in Japan. Tokyo Baby Cafe, a cafe near Tokyo’s Omotesando boulevard with an indoor playroom for babies and toddlers, ...

Male hairdressers are having trouble surviving amid the so-called charisma boom their industry gave rise to around 2000. The boom, hyped by TV dramas and variety shows with charismatic hairdressers, prompted many young men to take up the profession. The number of newly licensed ...

Once the exclusive preserve of women, beauty parlors, nail salons and cosmetics retailers nationwide are seeing an uptick in the number of male staff. Kei Kishimoto, 28, has been working as a beauty consultant for Shiseido Co. at a drugstore in Osaka for over ...

In Japan, initiation ceremonies for new employees are traditionally held in April, the start of the fiscal and school years, when freshly minted graduates hired through the mainstream recruitment process begin their new jobs. But as companies adopt more diversified recruitment strategies, such as ...

As the economic slump drags on, young people are finding creative ways to have their dream wedding at more down-to-earth prices. According to a survey by bridal magazine Zexy, the average cost for wedding ceremonies and receptions is ¥3.17 million. The bride’s wardrobe is ...

Budget hotels, once known as places with narrow baths and beds, are transforming themselves by installing outdoor bathtubs, high-grade furniture and other distinctive services. The transformation reflects attempts to attract people on business trips and new tourists in the face of the recession. Budget ...

Men who were aggressively recruited by firms during the bubble economy in the latter half of the 1980s through the early ’90s are now being scorned as “burdens” on society — a sharp contrast to their vigorous female peers, who are called “arafo,” short ...

Japan’s newly dominant consumer is likely to be in his 20s to 30s, favors cosmetics over deluxe cars and enjoys eating sweets with his parents at home rather than treating his girlfriend to fancy eateries. Such men are called “soshokukei danshi,” or “herbivorous men.” ...