Abstract
Japanese youth subcultures have become a special cultural phenomenon that sets the tone for all global trends in mass culture. The essence of this phenomenon is the special role of youth trends in the formation of cultural diversity in the Japanese national culture. In the second half of the 20th century, the ruling elite's attempts to create a homogeneous culture in Japan came up against the desire of young people to express their independence and individuality without worrying about national identity and homogeneity. However, despite the fact that Japanese youth subcultures have been influenced greatly by Western culture, they retain their Japanese cultural identity.
Often it is these subcultures that turn out to be the "calling card" of modern Japan, being not only a cultural brand of Japanese cities, but also an important economic item of income. At the same time, despite their long history, many of these phenomena in the youth environment are a tribute to Western fashion, imitation of Western patterns of mass culture.
Thus, according to the authors, the modern mass culture of Japan is developing in contradiction between internal and external, as it is the young who set the trends for a new culture. However, we can hardly say with certainty that young people are losing touch with the national culture, because despite these innovations and hobbies of mass culture, they have many opportunities to realize their self within the framework of traditional Japanese symbols.
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