The Story
How Japan paved the way for western ‘kidults’
Published: 28 March 2025 at 00:01 Europe/London
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Episode notes
Japanese ‘kidults’ revolutionised pop culture in the 90s and 00s, turning to their inner children to cope with economic crisis and post-industrial societal ills, despite being ridiculed. As the milestones of adulthood - property, marriage and careers - become increasingly difficult for millennials and Gen Z to achieve - are westerners now turning to ‘kidulting’ to find answers?
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Guest: Matt Alt, author of Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World.
Host: Manveen Rana.
Producer: Sam Chantarasak.
Further listening:
- Studio Ghibli: Is this the end for the Japanese studio that inspired Pixar?
- The South Korean culture machine that conquered the world
Clips: SEGA, Pokémon Theme/POKEMON, MSNBC, CNN, AJ+, Sony, PlayStation, CBS, SXSW, TikTok/@otakuintokyo, TikTok/@kaitlyneats, Your Name/dir. Makoto Shinkai/CoMix Wave Films/Toho.
Photo: Getty Images.
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