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The Story

Why everyone's going to Japan

The Story

The Times

Politics, News Analysis, Investigative Reporting, Exclusive Interviews, Long-form Audio, In-depth Journalism, Audio Storytelling, Current Affairs, Global News, Uk News, Daily News Podcast, Unknown, Daily News, News

41.5K Ratings

🗓️ 28 March 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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? 

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory

Guest: Matt Alt, author of Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World.

Host: Manveen Rana.

Producer: Sam Chantarasak.

Further listening: 

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.

Get in touch: [email protected]


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Transcript

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0:00.0

At Barclays, we run programs that help communities across the UK,

0:05.1

whether you're a young person, gaining skills to enter the workplace,

0:09.3

a small business trying to grow and find its place in the modern world,

0:13.6

or a girl in school, building confidence on and off the pitch through football.

0:20.6

We believe everyone deserves to fly.

0:24.4

Search Berkeley's communities to find out more.

0:27.4

Barclays, here for every goal.

0:33.8

From the Times and the Sunday Times, this is the story.

0:38.4

I'm Manvine Rana.

0:42.1

You must know someone who fits the category.

0:45.5

Maybe you're one yourself.

0:47.3

I probably am.

0:48.1

The sort of person who goes around boasting when they're hashtag adulting,

0:52.9

because, well, those moments can feel rare.

0:57.9

The term kiddalt is actually a Western word. I believe it was actually coined in England,

1:05.1

and it refers to grown-ups who refuse to abandon their hobbies and interests and pastimes of their youth. In times of old,

1:14.0

we were told to put childish things behind us so that we can become fully fledged adults.

1:19.4

But as you are undoubtedly well aware, in the modern era, this isn't exactly the case.

1:25.0

And Japan was very much ahead of the curve when it came to preserving

1:30.6

childhood characteristics well into adulthood. Yep, Japan definitely got there first. So much so that

1:39.1

for many people, when they think of the country, they don't just think of the majestic volcanoes,

1:44.1

the ancient temples, and for the next few weeks, the spectacular site of the country, they don't just think of the majestic volcanoes, the ancient temples,

...

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