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Japan-VALS™: Change Regions and Life Orientations
Japan-VALS™ was designed to explain and model social change in Japan—not only change in institutions or ideas, but change in consumer markets and media as well.
Japan-VALS divides society into segments on the basis of two key consumer attributes: life orientation and attitudes to social change. Life orientation is simply what interests or animates a person the most—life, occupational duties, recreational interests. Japan-VALS identifies four primary life orientations: Traditional Ways, Occupations, Innovation, and Self-Expression. Each orientation provides a life theme around which activities, interests, and personal goals are woven.
Crosscutting the variety of life orientations, change attitudes stratify society into distinct layers, like overturned bowls nested one inside another. The change-leading segments are in the outermost layers of society; the change-resisting segments are at the center. Change diffuses from one layer to the next, primarily along the channels around different life orientations.
This design permits Japan-VALS to clarify the processes of social change and innovation diffusion in Japanese society. It also identifies the consumer segments at the core of most consumer markets:
- Integrators (4% of population) are highest on the Japan-VALS measure of Innovation. These consumers are active, inquisitive, trend-leading, informed, and affluent. They travel frequently and consume a wide range of media-print and broadcast, niche, and foreign.
- Self Innovators and Self Adapters (7% and 11% of population) score high on Self-Expression. These consumers desire personal experience, fashionable display, social activities, daring ideas, and exciting, graphic entertainment.
- Ryoshiki Innovators and Ryoshiki Adapters (6% and 10% of population) score highest on Occupations. Education, career achievement, and professional knowledge are their personal focus, but home, family, and social status are their guiding concerns.
- Tradition Innovators and Tradition Adapters (6% and 10% of population) score highest on the measure of Traditional Ways. These consumers adhere to traditional religions and customs, prefer long-familiar home furnishings and dress, and hold conservative social opinions.
- High Pragmatics and Low Pragmatics (14% and 17% of population) do not score high on any life-orientation dimension. They are not very active and not well informed; they have few interests and seem flexible or even uncommitted in their lifestyle choices.
- Sustainers (15% of population) score lowest on the Innovation and Self-Expression dimensions. Lacking money, youth, and high education, these consumers dislike innovation and are typically oriented to sustaining the past.
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