The term ¥Õ¥¡¥¹¥È¥Õ¥¡¥Ã¥·¥ç¥ó (fasuto fasshon, fast fashion) has been around for a while, appearing on the media¡¯s radar on and off. More recently, it has come under scrutiny for an ¥¤¥ó¥Õ¥ë¥¨¥ó¥µ©`ʼþ (infuruens¨¡ jiken, influencer incident) involving Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein.

In 2009, the loanword landed itself a top 10 spot on Japan¡¯s ÐÂÕZ?Á÷ÐÐÕZ´óÙp (Shingo, Ry¨±k¨­go Taish¨­, New Words and Buzzwords Awards). Still, even with this accolade, not everyone has heard of the concept. So, if you¡¯re looking to start a conversation about shopping habits, it might be best to first start with an explanation.

¥Õ¥¡¥¹¥È¥Õ¥¡¥Ã¥·¥ç¥ó¤È¤Ï¡¢Á÷ÐФòÈ¡¤êÈë¤ì¤Ê¤¬¤éµÍý¸ñ¤ËÒÖ¤¨¤¿ÒÂÁÏÆ·¤ò´óÁ¿Éú®b¤·¡¢¶ÌÆÚég¤Î¥µ¥¤¥¯¥ë¤ÇØœ‰Ó¤¹¤ë¥Õ¥¡¥Ã¥·¥ç¥ó¥Ö¥é¥ó¥É¤ä¤½¤Î˜I‘B¤Î¤³¤È¤Ç¤¹ (Fasuto fasshon to wa, ry¨±k¨­ o tori¡¯ire nagara teikakaku ni osaeta iry¨­hin o tairy¨­ seisan shi, tankikan no saikuru de hanbai suru fasshon burando ya sono gy¨­tai no koto desu, Fast fashion is when a brand or business sells mass-produced clothes for a low price in a short cycle so as to incorporate trends).