Disneyization

The Disneyization of society argues that the contemporary world is increasingly displaying characteristics of the Disney theme parks.

There are 4 aspects to Disneyization, mainly, theming, hybrid consumption, merchandising and performative labour.

Theming

• clothing institutions or objects in a narrative that is largely unrelated to the institution or object to which it is applied, such as a casino or restaurant with a Wild West narrative;

Almost everywhere in Japan is focused on a theme. For example, Akihabara is famous for their electronics, making it an electronic heaven for people who have interests in electronics. Shinjuku is famous for their fashion, attracting fashion lovers. In Japan, people with different interests are thus located at places that provide what they prefer or like.

Hybrid Consumption

• a general trend whereby the forms of consumption associated with different institutional spheres become interlocked with each other and increasingly difficult to distinguish;

Due to high influx of tourism into Japan, Japan might be losing their culture to foreign culture, or maybe it might be a mix of both local and foreign culture. The possible reasons as to why Japan might be losing their sense of identity and culture would be due to exposure to foreign culture, they might think that foreign culture is better than theirs, thus adopting it. This makes Japan culture similar to that of any other country. In a long run, it becomes difficult to distinguish local culture from foreign culture.

Merchandising

• the promotion and sale of goods in the form of or bearing copyright images and/or logos, including such products made under licence;

In agreement with this, every country has their own distinct culture. For example, food. Sushi is considered as Japan's unofficial "national" food. When one goes to Japan, the food that he or she must try would be sushi. Even in other countries like Singapore, when one sees the sight of Sushi, it immediately reminds them of Japan.

Performative Labour

• the growing tendency for frontline service work to be viewed as a performance, especially one in which the deliberate display of a certain mood is seen as part of the labour involved in service work.

In Japan, service standard for their staff are very strict and high. Compared to Singapore's standard of service, Japan's service is very consistent and accurate, hardly disappointing their customers. This may be a plus point for tourism in Japan as foreigners are willing to visit Japan due to its standards of service, making their trip an enjoyable and memorable one. They are not very open when it comes to voicing out their opinions, which makes it their culture as Japanese. This may seem as a form of "mood" that they want to portray to everyone.