Creteil changes to “Kureteiyu”, La Defense becoming “Ra Defanssu” … The fascination of those who idealize everything that comes from Japan is sharply mocked on social networks.
With the “Japan effect”, Generation Z turns in derision on social networks the trend of idealizing ordinary places by “Japanizing” them. On TikTok or X, posts present two almost identical images, but one has a Japanese-sounding name, an anime music, and some cherry blossoms… making a city in the Parisian suburbs or the famous French business district more attractive, explain trend experts.
“The goal is to make fun of the ‘kawaii’ (cute) effect of Japan on the internet, with its stereotypes and clichés,” explains AFP videographer Rocky Louzembi, 25, known on YouTube as Rocky Le Vrai. The global fascination for Japanese pop culture has been encouraged for more than ten years by the Japanese government’s “Cool Japan” strategy, and fueled by manga, anime, gastronomy, and fashion.
To criticize this enthusiasm, some internet users use the expression “Japan glazers” from English “glazing”, referring to an excessively admired Japan lover. A Japan glazer “is someone who puts everything that comes from Japan on a pedestal while ignoring what comes from their own country,” explains Rocky Louzembi, specializing in Internet culture analysis. Thus, this “Japan effect” mocking the “glazers”, appeared in the United States before spreading elsewhere, is “pure humor and also a form of exoticization” to better criticize stereotypes about Japan, according to him.
France is particularly fond of this culture: it was in 2025 the second largest consumer of manga in the world after Japan, according to market analysis firm Statista. This appetite incites many to travel: Japan welcomed a record number of 42.7 million visitors last year. According to the Japan National Tourism Office, 389,000 French tourists visited the country in 2024, a record since 1992.
But this fascination is accompanied by a gap with reality. “The Japan represented in anime is often very different from Japanese society,” points out Marika Sato, 29, a marketing professional in Tokyo. She recalls that some social issues remain invisible: “Nearly half of women in Japan have been victims of at least one instance of groping in their lives.” Maya Kubota, a 28-year-old graphic designer, expresses reservations about certain excesses, such as comments affirming that “the Japanese are on another level.” This idealized vision also relies on a strong aesthetic: “People associate Japan with carefully composed images,” analyzes Seio Nakajima, a professor at Waseda University, linking it to Roland Barthes’ philosophy in “Empire of Signs.” “If people focus on form rather than content, it becomes easier to go viral.”
The phenomenon touches travelers from around the world. “In Russia, it is very popular to ‘hyper’ (exaggerate) Japan,” says 25-year-old Russian tourist Tatiana Mokeeva. For Rocky Louzembi, this fascination can be coupled with a reductive view of the archipelago: “The problem is that some visit the country with a very childish and stereotypical view,” ignoring discriminations and inequalities. Part of Generation Z openly mocks these “Japan glazers,” and these codes are even taken up by the business world, such as a post office in Creteil pointing out this “Japan effect” in a humorous communication. But for many visitors, the fascination remains. “Japan is a culturally unique place,” says 32-year-old American Tessa Mason. “It lives up to its reputation.”
