There are some fundamental differences between Japan and the West, for example the way there are no anatomically-based swear words in Japanese, with the most common insult being 馬鹿 baka (stupid). When my daughter started junior high school, she went online with her mother to buy some clothes she needed for the coming school year, including brands like Beverly Hills Polo Club, School Scene, and of course, Playboy. Say what? It turns out that in Japan, the famous bunny logo is extremely popular with young girls, who think it looks oshare (oh-SHA-reh), or stylish, elegant and chic. Hiding my surprise, I asked her what “Playboy” was, and she replied, “It’s a famous maker of girls’ clothes. Don’t you know anything, Dad?” I shrugged — if the symbol was removed from its special meaning in the U.S., I guess it didn’t matter if some 13-year-olds had little bunnies sewn into their socks. Of course sometimes it doesn’t work out so well. A few days ago the Japanese internet reacted with shock when someone realized that one of the performers in a children’s TV show had offensive English printed on her clothing (link NSFW).
Japanese don’t think anything of a young girl with Playboy socks.
