It's hard to tell if this is an interesting correlation of several different sociological trends, or just sloppy journalism. This whole thing reminds me of the "metrosexual" thing in the US, but it's interesting that they also tied in vegetarianism and living at home with their parents.
"Her company claims that roughly two-thirds of all Japanese men aged 20-34 are now partial or total grass-eaters..."<p>A very imprecisely defined term, so how do we know that it accurately describes two thirds of men in that age range, roughly or not?<p>It is hard to tell whether this article is hyperbole or not. There is very little in the way of quantitative data to say. Although this bit of quantitative data caught my eye:<p>"About one third of the Japanese workforce is now casual or part-time"<p>That seems a huge number to me, and could account for some of the claimed changes in the culture.<p>I also found interesting the inclusion of "has a liking for deserts and foreign travel." These are indeed traits considered feminine in Japan, but not so much in the rest of the world (I learned to curb my enthusiasm for sweets when I lived in Japan).
Having semi-worked in the nightlife industry for a little while, I can assure you that the same phenomenon is <i>very</i> present here in the US. A night out in ATL is chock full of guys with spiky hair and fauxhawks wearing Affliction / Ed Hardy / whatever the new craze is and sporting more accessories than the girls that they're hitting on. Google "peacocking" and you'll see what I'm talking about.<p>This just seems like more of westernized / American culture making its way to Japan, more specifically "local celebrity" / "rockstar" culture. The critics are even using similar terminology; hip-hop has been calling guys like this herbs for over a decade now. From Urban Dictionary: Herb - Someone who tries too hard to be cool. An overzealous poseur.
Male BRAS?<p>Japan has always struck me as very strange, at turns brutally rigid, bullying, and at the same time very faddish. The article paints this behavior as a reaction to the salaryman excesses of the post war environment, where the people in their 20s and 30s are withdrawing from commitments and becoming virtual hermits.<p>The comments are fascinating with some likening them to Well's Eloi and others commenting on parallel behavior in Britain.
By the name given to these men I was expecting something <i>entirely</i> different. I was expecting it to be bush munchers, not effeminate vegetarians.