Japanese Cybercultures (review)

It is no criticism of Japanese Cybercultures to say that, after reading it, I found myself immediately looking forward to an updated edition, perhaps ten or even five years from now. This is because the book, with its wide range of subject matter, rich details, and informative analysis is a fascinating snapshot, not only of the varieties of Japanese cybercultures, but also of many Japanese subcultures and of contemporary Japanese culture overall. The book therefore contributes to a thoroughly up-to-date vision of contemporary Japan, or what David Gauntlett in his preface refers to as "the transformation and detraditionalization of Japanese society" (p. xiii). As an added bonus, it also both approaches and expresses a significant number of issues involving the ways contemporary citizens around the world are using the internet, suggesting the problems as well as the successes related to the new global cyberculture. Precisely because of the book's timeliness, however, it remains to be seen how many of the cybercultures profiled will have a lasting impact on society, as it is likely that the technological and social landscape may change radically in the next few years. In the meantime, at least, we can make use of and appreciate this stimulating and informative collection.

Gottlieb and McLelland's extremely useful introduction defines "cyberculture" in relation to subcultures in general as when "like-minded individuals meet online in order to pursue a common interest or goal irrespective of whether the 'community' that develops through this interaction maintains an offline presence" (p.1). In fact, most, if not all, of the cybercommunities described in this book do indeed maintain a presence offline and consequently Japanese Cybercultures is an intriguing window into a variety of what the book calls "minority" subcultures operating in Japan today. These subcultures range from HIV sufferers to Jehovah's Witnesses, but what they have in common is their enthusiastic use of the internet either to create a community outside of the mainstream or else to create cybergroups that have an impact upon the mainstream.

The book does not deal only with small segments of society, however. It is separated into three overall sections, "Popular Culture," "Gender and Sexuality," and "Politics and Religion," with the first section sometimes dealing with groups so large, such as the consumers of cuteness who buy into the kawaii keitai culture (cuteness linked to mobile phones), as to constitute something closer to a mass movement. At the other end of the spectrum, the book also includes a lively description of an internet blues jam conducted between a bar in Mississipi and one in Tokyo.

Each essay yields particular gems of information and each is worth examining closely. Looking at the "Popular Culture" section first, we find, not surprisingly, that the first three essays deal with what are probably the largest cybercultures described in the book. Brian McVeigh's detailed exploration of Japanese university students and e-mail, "Individualization, Individuality, Interiority, and the Internet," not only gives a broad overview of the ways university students employ the internet in Japan—primarily through their cell phones, it would seem—but also brings up the intriguing psychosocial issue of how internet use affects the development of individuality and social connectedness. McVeigh's essay touches on a number of disturbing trends, such as the lowering of the level of social discourse as the students e-mail largely empty messages back and forth to each other, and the link between the increasing lack of face-to-face connection and the rise of "otakus" (socially awkward geeks), although McVeigh does suggest that "compulsively connecting oneself to others" (p.29) may actually be a form of resistance to other social pressures.

The next two essays, "Deai-kei: Japan's New Culture of Encounter" by Todd Joseph Miles Holden and Takako Tsuruki, and Larissa Hjorth's "Cute@keitai.com," are somewhat more optimistic investigations of the power of the internet to affect social connection in Japan. "Deai" literally means "type of encounter" and the authors of the article...