{
  "id": 9703106,
  "title": "1 in 5 young people in Japan worry about appearance as social media amplifies distress",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/1-in-5-young-people-in-japan-worry-about-appearance-as-social-media",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-25T05:00:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Mainichi",
    "slug": "the-mainichi",
    "url": "https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260925/p2a/00m/0na/021000c"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Osaka, Japan -- A recent survey conducted by the Children and Families Agency reveals that one in five young people in Japan, aged 13 to 29, are increasingly concerned about their appearance. This figure has slightly increased from 20.1% in the previous survey in fiscal 2018. Combined with those who were \"somewhat worried,\" the total reaches 54%, the second-highest among the five countries surveyed, following France. The most common response among the respondents was, \"I don't like my appearance,\" indicating a widespread discontent with their physical selves.\n\nThe survey also found that unmarried women aged 15 to 19 had the highest proportion of respondents expressing this concern, at 70.5%. The rise in social media usage since the late 2000s is believed to have contributed to this trend, as it provides more opportunities for individuals to post and view images of themselves and others, which can amplify feelings of dissatisfaction with one's appearance.\n\nMinako Omura, a lecturer in clinical psychology at Tokyo Future University, conducted a study in 2025 analyzing the relationship between social media usage and young people's perceptions of their appearance. The study divided 311 college students into two groups based on their level of fixation on their appearance. Those with a strong fixation on their appearance used an average of 3.58 social media apps daily, compared to 3.15 apps for those with less fixation. Additionally, the high-fixation group spent an average of 225.81 minutes per day on social media, about three hours and 45 minutes longer than the less preoccupied group, which averaged 169.58 minutes per day.\n\nOmura suggests that the heightened visibility of reactions to appearance on social media, such as likes and comments, may exacerbate these concerns. Adolescence, up to around age 20, is a critical period during which individuals compare themselves with others, and social media can intensify these comparisons, leading to amplified feelings of inadequacy.",
  "summary": "OSAKA -- Children and young people in Japan are increasingly becoming concerned about their appearance, with some experts citing the influence of soci",
  "key_points": [
    "1 in 5 Japanese young people aged 13-29 worry about appearance, up from 20.1% in 2018",
    "Unmarried women 15-19 have highest concern rate at 70.5%",
    "Social media usage linked to amplified appearance concerns among youth"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The growing concern among young people in Japan about their appearance, now at one in five, reflects a trend where social media usage intensifies self-comparison and feelings of inadequacy.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}