Konbini-Nation: The Rise of the Convenience Store in Post-Industrial Japan

Abstract

Convenience stores (konbini) are a common part of Japan's contemporary commercial landscape. The sheer concentration of stores, their long hours of operation, predictable offferings, and speedy service make them a popular daily destination for many people. A number of factors have contributed to the rise of the convenience store as an everyday institution. This chapter examines the development of the convenience store in Japan and its effflorescence beginning in the late 1990s. Rather than seeing these stores as a sign of global uniformity, this chapter argues that their expansion both reflects a process of 'structured diffferentiation' in Japanese society and the contradictions that are contributing to important social shifts within Japan's social arrangements.