Opinion

Thriving Flea Markets

By GWEN A. ROBINSON

I recently visited one of the many booming flea markets that take place regularly around Tokyo. That visit made me realize the enormous changes Japanese consumer attitudes have undergone over the past decade. Flea markets ― and indeed, used goods in general ― were definitely not fashionable during the 1980s in Japan.

Back then, I think many Japanese wouldn't have been caught dead foraging through secondhand items and clothing. In fact, most of my Japanese friends used to display palpable contempt for anything even slightly old or worn. I remember well the laughs I used to get at electrical repair shops when I'd ask to have something more than three years old fixed. The repair people would say, "Impossible. Buy a new one."

Foreigners found it incredible that Japanese people were willing to pay for the collection and disposal of their "sodai gomi." But legions of struggling English teachers and foreign students benefited enormously from the attitude that anything old should be replaced, even if it was still in working order.

It was common in the 1980s to see expensive equipment and furniture, such as large television sets, videocassette recorders, microwave ovens and even lounge chairs, sitting abandoned on street corners. Often, they'd be carefully wrapped in plastic to protect them from the elements, and usually they functioned perfectly well. I had many friends who furnished their apartments almost entirely from the streets and would cheerfully joke about how they acquired the goods at "Emporium de Gomi."

Not any more. The bursting of Japan's economic bubble brought a new sense of austerity. Foreigners increasingly found that the VCRs and other items dumped on the street truly didn't work and were too old to fix. Japanese people also began showing new interest in another of the foreigners' favorite sources of cheap secondhand goods: English-language public notice boards, classified ad publications, and the "sayonara sales" announced in newspapers and magazines.

I was amazed recently when I advertised some secondhand household items in various English-language publications, because I was deluged by calls from Japanese people. Back in 1990, when I advertised used items, I didn't receive even one call from a Japanese person.

It's clear these days that society has changed its views on the sale and purchase of used items. It's particularly staggering to see the growth of stores specializing in secondhand goods such as clothes, CDs and furniture. In fashionable areas such as Harajuku, stores selling tatty old jeans, T-shirts, knickknacks, and other paraphernalia actually seem more trendy than stores selling brand new merchandise.

The biggest change, however, must surely be in the current popularity of flea markets. I see housewives, young couples, and whole families buying and selling. Some are making a bit of extra money from their unwanted belongings. Others are hunting for a bargain. But I'll bet that most of them would not have given a thought to selling or buying used items 10 years ago.

Shukan ST: Dec. 20, 1996

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