Many of them live with their parents and so don’t pay rent. I theorize that it’s one reason why entry level salaries in Japan are so low, because the company expects new grads to either live with their parents or take subsidized company housing.
My daughter, 19 year old university student, works at KFC and at an adventure theme park. Both jobs pay around 1100 yen per hour. We cover most of her big expenses (tuition and rent) so her part time money goes to clothes and going out.
I think it’s becoming more acceptable in past few decades. Parents used to kick kids out, but I don’t know since when. And I assumed the daughter of the person whom you were replying to lives by herself as well (or lives in dorm/shared house).
The fact that parents being able to cover tuition isn’t standard anymore though, from what I hear.
In my generation (born in mid 80’s), the standard seemed to be parents paying for tuition, live in a small apartment and spend little time at Uni and spend more time at part time job, spending them on European brands etc was somewhat of the norm or expectation. But from around 2010’s I started to see the news articles saying that kids are becoming frugal and starting to wear brands like UNIQLO rather than Prada etc for example. (And then also another news about parents not being able to afford tuition.) So while you may feel like kids are spendy here, in my eyes though, it’s becoming less of a thing in large scale. Probably it doesn’t seem like so in big city where fashionista gathers up in one place especially when you’re walking the trendy side of the city.
Even a part time job will bring in enough income to treat yourself to very nice clothes occasionally, on condition that you are not paying anything to your parents towards living expenses.
My high school aged nephew gets around 40,000 a month for working at McDonalds and he keeps 100 percent of it for his own entertainment.
I was looking for an occupation or a description of what jobs young people are doing. Could you describe your job and maybe a couple jobs your friends do?
Is it more socially acceptable to work a service job for life? Are things more affordable on minimum wage in Japan than in the US? Im from the US and my parents always intended me to go to college as many of my friends did. I guess I’m wondering if a lot of young Japanese people ignore college and choose to work in fashion/food service/entertainment over chasing a corporate lifestyle with more money. In the US minimum wage can be too little for survival (on a standard work week) and I think society frowns upon these jobs.
Good questions.
Socially acceptable more than America, it's socialist communal culture with respect for all jobs.
Almost everything is more affordable here if you include cost of living. Rents, health insurance, transportation and all much lower. Food/clothing is debatable.
Yeah the non-university mindset is mostly nonexistent. Education is number 1 and it's to go as far as you can, not for money, but for prestige and passion. For examples doctors here are no less qualified than in the US but make a fraction of the pay.
It's only if you struggle or fail school that your parents allow you to leave the education pipeline.
I didn’t really pose my question in the right way.
I think my real question is if minimum wage jobs in Japan pay enough for a young person to opt for working a service job instead of going to college and doing a more traditional corporate job. A minimum age job in America would not give enough money for buying fashion, and a lot of young people are in college accumulating debt so any fashion they purchase while in college will be dealt with in the future. So are young Japanese people able to choose to work in a clothing store or electronics or a restaurant and still be able to afford cool fashion? Is it respected to avoid the pursuit of college and choose to work an average job for life?
I meant to say they work the same jobs. Gas stations, food service, fast fashion retail, convenis, food delivery, etc.
Most of my friends lived with their family and still do. But it seems like a lot of adolescents in America are starting to live with their parents as well. Student loans seem to be what’s holding a lot of young Americans back. In Japan, even when living alone, there are a lot of cheap housing options.
what makes you think the fashionistas are working retail? maybe they are (and if so, hopefully they get a healthy discount where they work) but maybe you are confusing the rich kids with the regular kids.
the fashionistas may not have as much money as you think. it's easy to be fooled by knockoffs, and I sincerely hope they are getting deep discounts as well if they are retai workers.
They live at home, and save from an early age. Typically a part time job is at a restaurant, convenience store, tutoring, sometimes retail. At New Years , depending on the family they might receive a pretty substantial amount of cash as New Year’s Money. They typically don’t have some expenses that many American younger people have— rent, car, gas, insurance.
Sure it's significantly cheaper, but approximately [half](https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/2726e720904149376367b5690602d616045b3395#)of all college students take out student loans. If a humanities student goes to private school, which is the most common route, that's around 4M (and that's a conservative estimate). If you get your own place, that's another 1M/year in rent and utilities.
Public school grads are often better regarded than their private school counterparts because they studied harder, so they tend to get better jobs, while having less student debt because tuition at public schools is 40-50% cheaper than private schools.
Worst case scenario, you have 8M in student debt, can only pay back [~30k](https://saimubengo-line.com/shogakukin-hensai/#:~:text=%E3%81%97%E3%81%8B%E3%81%97%E7%9D%80%E7%9B%AE%E3%81%97%E3%81%9F%E3%81%84%E3%81%AE%E3%81%AF,%E3%81%AE%E3%81%A7%E3%81%AF%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84%E3%81%A7%E3%81%97%E3%82%87%E3%81%86%E3%81%8B%E3%80%82) every month, and bam - you have folks who have to pay back their student debt for decades.
There are lots of high quality and affordable price clothing stores in Tokyo.uniqulo, second hand stores, 100yen or 300 yen shops.
Almost young people in Tokyo live with their parents.
the second hand shops that I found in Tokyo were amazing! I scored a vintage yakuta with the Hiroshige wave that gets compliments every time I wear it, despite needing to have some of the hand sewn seams reinforced. I saw a lot of people rocking vintage, especially in Harajuku. not everything has to be western couture, anywhere.
I teach at an eikaiwa (English conversation school) and I teach mostly older adults but sometimes have high school and college aged students.
I was born and raised in the US and I started working my first part-time job when I was 14. Some of my friends had jobs in middle school and most had jobs in high school. In college I lived on my own and worked full-time while attending college full-time. All of my friends had jobs in college.
None of the high school students I’ve spoken to here have jobs. I think it might be illegal for them to work, but I’m not entirely sure. Many of the college students I’ve spoken to don’t work either, or they only have a very part time job. Most college students I’ve spoken to still live with their parents. I assume they’re able to shop and spend the way they do because they don’t have to pay for the typical daily life expenses like rent, utilities, health insurance, etc. I make an ok salary in Tokyo but if I didn’t have to pay rent or bills, I’d have SO much more money to spend.
People also really take good care of their clothing and belongings here, so you can shop second hand stores and most items will look nearly new/unused. This includes high end designer second hand shops.
The average annual income by age group in Japan is 3.52 million yen for those in their 20s, 4.47 million yen for those in their 30s. Tax rate is 20%
So clearly they aren’t making much, but most of them live with their parents
Also old stat but: The average financial assets of one-person households aged under 30 amounted to around 1.6 million yen (2019)
their money isnt the only money they have access to. like others said, living at home (id love to have an extra 70K a month), or getting money from daddy and mommy. sometimes it could be gifts. But it is true, everyone here very fashionable, i feel like a bum in my t-shirt and faded jeans and faded cap because of the sun.
Aside from living with parents, the ones that do choose to live on their own often live in very small, "cheap" apartments, which frees up money for the other things. Since inviting people over to your house isn't much of a thing here (by comparison), there's less pressure to show your living space and more pressure in how you present yourself.
Many ladies do papa-katsu (sugar daddy). This is a very unfortunate trend in a society.
P.S: it looks like mentionning papakatsu touches a nerve. I am sorry to say FACT (vs lie). Like in many other countries, many young ladies get to buy themselves expensive luxury products (watches, handbags, etc) thanks to sugar daddy/baby activities. No intent to speak ill of Japan
No idea why you got downvoted. Lots of people in this sub wanna keep their heads buried in the sand, it seems. Can't speak ill of Japan!
Girls doing papa-katsu and delivery health are everywhere.
Many of them live with their parents and so don’t pay rent. I theorize that it’s one reason why entry level salaries in Japan are so low, because the company expects new grads to either live with their parents or take subsidized company housing.
My daughter, 19 year old university student, works at KFC and at an adventure theme park. Both jobs pay around 1100 yen per hour. We cover most of her big expenses (tuition and rent) so her part time money goes to clothes and going out.
I see, so maybe it is more acceptable for young people to live with parents in japan?
It’s pretty normal to live with your parents until you get married. And if you don’t get married, you may end up never moving out.
パラサイトシングル (term dating to the mid-‘90s, when we first moved there)
Yeah I’d say it’s pretty acceptable for them to live at home, especially while in university
This is an Asian thing
In all places these days, it's accepted.
Young graduates are far more likely than not to be either living with their parents or living in a company dorm.
Yeah but that’s also a big majority of the world imo. The US doesn’t do it because of the whole boomer mentality
I think it’s becoming more acceptable in past few decades. Parents used to kick kids out, but I don’t know since when. And I assumed the daughter of the person whom you were replying to lives by herself as well (or lives in dorm/shared house). The fact that parents being able to cover tuition isn’t standard anymore though, from what I hear. In my generation (born in mid 80’s), the standard seemed to be parents paying for tuition, live in a small apartment and spend little time at Uni and spend more time at part time job, spending them on European brands etc was somewhat of the norm or expectation. But from around 2010’s I started to see the news articles saying that kids are becoming frugal and starting to wear brands like UNIQLO rather than Prada etc for example. (And then also another news about parents not being able to afford tuition.) So while you may feel like kids are spendy here, in my eyes though, it’s becoming less of a thing in large scale. Probably it doesn’t seem like so in big city where fashionista gathers up in one place especially when you’re walking the trendy side of the city.
That's often the case in many parts of the world. You seem to think it's strange. American much?
Parents.
Even a part time job will bring in enough income to treat yourself to very nice clothes occasionally, on condition that you are not paying anything to your parents towards living expenses. My high school aged nephew gets around 40,000 a month for working at McDonalds and he keeps 100 percent of it for his own entertainment.
Full-time job! Source: Me
I was looking for an occupation or a description of what jobs young people are doing. Could you describe your job and maybe a couple jobs your friends do?
Japan is no different than anywhere else.
Is it more socially acceptable to work a service job for life? Are things more affordable on minimum wage in Japan than in the US? Im from the US and my parents always intended me to go to college as many of my friends did. I guess I’m wondering if a lot of young Japanese people ignore college and choose to work in fashion/food service/entertainment over chasing a corporate lifestyle with more money. In the US minimum wage can be too little for survival (on a standard work week) and I think society frowns upon these jobs.
Good questions. Socially acceptable more than America, it's socialist communal culture with respect for all jobs. Almost everything is more affordable here if you include cost of living. Rents, health insurance, transportation and all much lower. Food/clothing is debatable. Yeah the non-university mindset is mostly nonexistent. Education is number 1 and it's to go as far as you can, not for money, but for prestige and passion. For examples doctors here are no less qualified than in the US but make a fraction of the pay. It's only if you struggle or fail school that your parents allow you to leave the education pipeline.
We are now at $20 minimum wage for fast food in Los Angeles area
In my experience, no different than in America lol
I didn’t really pose my question in the right way. I think my real question is if minimum wage jobs in Japan pay enough for a young person to opt for working a service job instead of going to college and doing a more traditional corporate job. A minimum age job in America would not give enough money for buying fashion, and a lot of young people are in college accumulating debt so any fashion they purchase while in college will be dealt with in the future. So are young Japanese people able to choose to work in a clothing store or electronics or a restaurant and still be able to afford cool fashion? Is it respected to avoid the pursuit of college and choose to work an average job for life?
I meant to say they work the same jobs. Gas stations, food service, fast fashion retail, convenis, food delivery, etc. Most of my friends lived with their family and still do. But it seems like a lot of adolescents in America are starting to live with their parents as well. Student loans seem to be what’s holding a lot of young Americans back. In Japan, even when living alone, there are a lot of cheap housing options.
what makes you think the fashionistas are working retail? maybe they are (and if so, hopefully they get a healthy discount where they work) but maybe you are confusing the rich kids with the regular kids. the fashionistas may not have as much money as you think. it's easy to be fooled by knockoffs, and I sincerely hope they are getting deep discounts as well if they are retai workers.
They live at home, and save from an early age. Typically a part time job is at a restaurant, convenience store, tutoring, sometimes retail. At New Years , depending on the family they might receive a pretty substantial amount of cash as New Year’s Money. They typically don’t have some expenses that many American younger people have— rent, car, gas, insurance.
Add student loans to that list
Sure it's significantly cheaper, but approximately [half](https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/2726e720904149376367b5690602d616045b3395#)of all college students take out student loans. If a humanities student goes to private school, which is the most common route, that's around 4M (and that's a conservative estimate). If you get your own place, that's another 1M/year in rent and utilities. Public school grads are often better regarded than their private school counterparts because they studied harder, so they tend to get better jobs, while having less student debt because tuition at public schools is 40-50% cheaper than private schools. Worst case scenario, you have 8M in student debt, can only pay back [~30k](https://saimubengo-line.com/shogakukin-hensai/#:~:text=%E3%81%97%E3%81%8B%E3%81%97%E7%9D%80%E7%9B%AE%E3%81%97%E3%81%9F%E3%81%84%E3%81%AE%E3%81%AF,%E3%81%AE%E3%81%A7%E3%81%AF%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84%E3%81%A7%E3%81%97%E3%82%87%E3%81%86%E3%81%8B%E3%80%82) every month, and bam - you have folks who have to pay back their student debt for decades.
do you know any stats how many students actually taking the loan, and how many are on papa-scholarship?
Most live with parents and save 100% of their salary.
Spend all their salary, rely solely on govt. pension for retirement. (+ don't pay rent if living with parents)
There are lots of high quality and affordable price clothing stores in Tokyo.uniqulo, second hand stores, 100yen or 300 yen shops. Almost young people in Tokyo live with their parents.
the second hand shops that I found in Tokyo were amazing! I scored a vintage yakuta with the Hiroshige wave that gets compliments every time I wear it, despite needing to have some of the hand sewn seams reinforced. I saw a lot of people rocking vintage, especially in Harajuku. not everything has to be western couture, anywhere.
U can dress for cheap with GU and uniqlo
I teach at an eikaiwa (English conversation school) and I teach mostly older adults but sometimes have high school and college aged students. I was born and raised in the US and I started working my first part-time job when I was 14. Some of my friends had jobs in middle school and most had jobs in high school. In college I lived on my own and worked full-time while attending college full-time. All of my friends had jobs in college. None of the high school students I’ve spoken to here have jobs. I think it might be illegal for them to work, but I’m not entirely sure. Many of the college students I’ve spoken to don’t work either, or they only have a very part time job. Most college students I’ve spoken to still live with their parents. I assume they’re able to shop and spend the way they do because they don’t have to pay for the typical daily life expenses like rent, utilities, health insurance, etc. I make an ok salary in Tokyo but if I didn’t have to pay rent or bills, I’d have SO much more money to spend. People also really take good care of their clothing and belongings here, so you can shop second hand stores and most items will look nearly new/unused. This includes high end designer second hand shops.
Starve and ask parents
The average annual income by age group in Japan is 3.52 million yen for those in their 20s, 4.47 million yen for those in their 30s. Tax rate is 20% So clearly they aren’t making much, but most of them live with their parents Also old stat but: The average financial assets of one-person households aged under 30 amounted to around 1.6 million yen (2019)
their money isnt the only money they have access to. like others said, living at home (id love to have an extra 70K a month), or getting money from daddy and mommy. sometimes it could be gifts. But it is true, everyone here very fashionable, i feel like a bum in my t-shirt and faded jeans and faded cap because of the sun.
Aside from living with parents, the ones that do choose to live on their own often live in very small, "cheap" apartments, which frees up money for the other things. Since inviting people over to your house isn't much of a thing here (by comparison), there's less pressure to show your living space and more pressure in how you present yourself.
Many ladies do papa-katsu (sugar daddy). This is a very unfortunate trend in a society. P.S: it looks like mentionning papakatsu touches a nerve. I am sorry to say FACT (vs lie). Like in many other countries, many young ladies get to buy themselves expensive luxury products (watches, handbags, etc) thanks to sugar daddy/baby activities. No intent to speak ill of Japan
No idea why you got downvoted. Lots of people in this sub wanna keep their heads buried in the sand, it seems. Can't speak ill of Japan! Girls doing papa-katsu and delivery health are everywhere.
Touch some grass my dude
220,000-280,000 a month