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Japanese
Women: World's Strongest Spenders?
- by
Yoko Kawaguchi, AsiaBIZ Strategy
(japan@asiabizstrategy.com)
Foreigners'
Misperceptions About Japanese Women
Many
foreigners who believe the existence of sexist
practices in Japan are still found around me.
Fortunately I have many opportunities to go
abroad on business and to meet foreign business
persons here in Japan. Their questions which
makes me unhappy include:
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“Is it possible for Japanese women to become
CEO or COO of corporate body in Japan?”,
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“Do Japanese companies send a woman staff
outside of Japan on business?”
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“Can Japanese wife vote by her own decision?
Or does her husband have much effect on her”
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“Does a Japanese wife have to walk 3 steps
back from her husband?” and so on.
Foreigners may expect Japanese women to be
discreet and tame though. I have 24 years of
experience of working at a Japanese major
company. As far as I know, women actually
are not treated fairly in our business society
yet. However, I think that it is the same in
other advanced countries.
Japanese Women's
Occupations
The
occupations of woman are expanding dramatically
recently. 7% of
 corporate bodies in Japan have
female chief executives. You can see many woman
truck drivers, construction experts, pilots,
firefighters, police staffs here, not just in
highly educated expert fields like medical
doctors, professors and lawyers. As a Crossover,
our traditional pink collars, nurse and
certified children’s nurse have been recognized
as men’s job. By women’s participation in
society (about 50% of women have jobs from age
15 to 65), Japanese women do not need to rely on
their fathers or husbands economically and our
women can spend their incomes without restraint.
In fact, property, luxury jewelry and
international fashion brands are bought by
Japanese working women as a reward to
themselves.
The Women Calls the Shots
In
the case of professional housewives in Japan, my
informal estimate is that 70-80% of our
housewives handle all family finances. Compared
to 20 or 30 years ago, our husbands had decision
making rights for big-ticket spending like homes
or cars. Now the housewives’ opinions are far
stronger. Additionally, good family asset
management depends on our housewives’ tact.
When the Going Gets Tough,
The Men Gets Hit
There
is an interesting phenomenon in Japan. During
economic slumps of decreased consumer spending,
our retail store counters for men’s wear shrink.
Our housewives cuts the budget for the husbands
as the very first item during recessions! Our
women never stop spending on themselves at any
one time! The adult educational market is also
for women. They study for better qualifications
or learn something cultural (cooking, arts,
music, dancing etc.) for recreation or for
self-improvement. Most private travellers are
women. They are heavy buyers of package tours.
As you may now understand, women lead the
Japanese consumer market. Producers have to
develop new products or services which engage
and capture women’s hearts here with the sales
promotion activities that are impressive for
women. Our women can enjoy the longest life
expectancy in the world. Don’t you think that
Japanese women are the strongest spender in the
world?
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