We focus on the recently emerging "baby culture" that is fostering a curriculum of consumption and consumerism among parents-to-be and infants aged zero-to-three. To gain insight into how the cultural artifacts, practices, and trends emerging from this demographic are shaping the way we think and act in a consumer culture, we investigate…

This study is part of a collaborative project examining the quality of life in Confucian societies in Asia. Our major findings suggest that, when our sixteen specific life domains are grouped into three life spheres, namely, material, post-material, and public, the Japanese people tend to be most satisfied with the post-material sphere of life and…

Interviews with 13 Japanese individuals (mean age 50 years) with physical disabilities found that their disabilities permeated every aspect of their daily experience. Informants described a life style in which they maximized their energies and abilities and limited unnecessary activities. Those who worked in the community or were able to…