Neither could a lot of other Japanese women. Lately, the idea of rewarding oneself with extravagances has been shaping the spending habits of women all over the country. A recent survey by Tokyo’s Saison Research Institute revealed that 46 percent of young Japanese women consider buying Louis Vuitton bags and Ferragamo shoes gohobi–a reward, or prize. It could be for completing a project, finishing a paper or just getting through the day. Once a month Emi Satake, 26, a travel agent in Nagoya, spends 30,000 yen for a night at a Marriott hotel, where she enjoys supper in the exclusive lounge, a massage before bed and a morning swim. “I can detach from busy workdays and refresh myself,” she says.
The “reward myself” movement may be one of the few bright spots in Japan’s depressed economy. Travel agencies promote business-class travel to exotic resorts as gohobi. This summer Miki Corp., a high-end jewelry chain, began airing TV ads for a diamond ring featuring top actress Kaori Momoi, who declares, “I don’t need someone to buy me jewelry… I’ll indulge myself!”
Japanese women may feel they have to reward themselves because no one else will. “They are less appreciated in the Japanese system,” says Keiko Oshima, chief planner at Gauss Life Psychology Institute, a marketing agency in Tokyo. It’s also a sign of their growing independence. “Women have advanced socially and economically, taking care of themselves, rewarding themselves with diamonds, and leaving men to wonder what to do with their money,” says Tatsuo Sekine, chairman of the marketing firm CM Research Center.
Restaurants, bars and hotels used to dislike single female customers, who spent significantly less than men or couples. No longer. Last June the Imperial, one of the world’s poshest hotels, began offering the “For Myself” package for a reasonable 23,500 yen. And, for many women, the ultimate prize is their own home. Banks, once reluctant to finance women, are now reaching out. In June, Musashi Bank in Saitama lowered the minimum annual income to qualify for a housing loan to 2.5 million yen for women (it remains 3 million yen for men). A room–or necklace, or vacation–of one’s own never looked so good.
