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Japanese popular culture not only reflects the
attitudes and concerns of the present, but it provides a link to the past.
Popular films, television programs, comics, and music all developed from
older artistic and literary traditions, and many of their themes and styles
of presentation can be traced to traditional art forms. Contemporary forms
of popular culture, like the traditional forms, provide not only
entertainment but also an escape for the contemporary Japanese from the
problems of an industrial world.
When asked how they spent their leisure time, 80 percent of a sample of
men and women surveyed by the government in 1986 said they averaged about
two and one-half hours per weekday watching television, listening to the
radio, and reading newspapers or magazines.
 Some 16 percent spent an average of two and one-quarter hours a day engaged
in hobbies or amusements. Others spent leisure time participating in sports,
socializing, and personal study. Teenagers and retired people reported more
time spent on all of these activities than did other groups. In the late 1980s, the family was the focus of
leisure activities, such as excursions to parks or shopping districts.
Although Japan is often thought of as a hard-working society with little
time for pleasure, the Japanese seek entertainment wherever they can. It is
common to see Japanese commuters riding the train to work, enjoying their
favorite comic book or listening through earphones to the latest in popular
music on cassette players.
Japan has about 100 million television sets in use,
and television is the main source of home entertainment and information for
most of the population. The Japanese has a wide variety of programs to
choose from, including the various dramas (police, crime, home, and
samurai), cartoons, news, and game, quiz, and sports shows provide by the
Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nippon Hoso Kyokai--NHK) general station,
the NHK educational station, and numerous commercial and independent
stations. The violence of the samurai and police dramas and the scatological
humor of the cartoons draws criticism from mothers and commentators.
Characters in dramas and cartoons often reflect racial and gender
stereotypes. Women news anchors are not given equal exposure in news
broadcasts, and few women are portrayed on television in high career
positions.
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