I'm not in Japan anymore, but from what I would see around me: > Apparently low/middle class consumers in Japan would put themselves into debt to buy luxury br

I'm not in Japan anymore, but from what I would see around me: > Apparently low/middle class consumers in Japan would put themselves into debt to buy luxury brands like Gucci It might be different for people with really low income, but in general that's credit card payment in 3 or 4 chunks. And for people really into brands, there is a decent resale value when a bag or other good is taken proper care. > fake beer It actually doesn't taste bad. Not as good as premium beer, but not so different from other run of the mill beer. 'fake' would be too pejorative I think. > print media It might be just me, but print media hasn't the same status n Japan as in other countries. The "it's printed so it must be true" way of thinking felt less entranched, and printed content was also lighter in tone and credibility. The nikkei shinbun would be the exception perhaps, other venues are seen as heavily biased and you'll find more truth on the internet anonymous boards (2chan) than on tv or newspapers. About the cultural exports, I think the problem is less about fringe stuffs than About missing the boat on the dominant digital platforms (mainly iTunes and iOS). The same thing is about to appen on ebooks, where the whole industry is aving a hard time doing the transition.