“Japan’s idolization of young girls, a trend that began in the 1980’s, has now shockingly expanded throughout the world as “cool Japan.” It is most often symbolized by the cute schoolgirl uniform-look popularized by the anime “Sailor Moon.” And once upon a time, “Electric Town,” Tokyo’s Akihabara district, was the place where we shopped for boom boxes and the latest Sony Walkman. But it has changed. Today it is filled with anime, manga (Japanese comics) and cosplay (costumes for teens and young adults). It’s all fantasy…most of it innocent, but some of it crosses a line foreigners may recognize but often dismiss on cultural grounds.
For those that love Japan for all of its “kawaii” cuteness, it is important to understand that there can be a dark side. The popularity certain imagery can cause girls and young women to act vs. be (an example of this is the way many Japanese girls and young women speak). Further, when a young woman becomes a mother, a man whose fantasies involve much young girls may in fact treat his wife more harshly and consider her “too old” and unappealing. This is precisely what happened to me and I realize now how stunted I was under the pedophile’s rule.
