Starbucks Employees

Starbucks Employees

Starbucks has become one of the most potent symbols of the spread of foreign businesses in Japan.  Within the past ten years, Starbucks has become one of the most important players in the Japanese food service industry.  This photograph illustrates the presence of Starbucks in Japan.  At the same time, students can be asked to observe things such as the gender and age make up of the employees in the photo, or even the fact that clerks were part of such a large and, apparently, upbeat gathering.  Asking students question such as what indicates that this photograph is in Japan, and what aspects could just as easily be from Seattle, Omaha, or New York, can open in interesting discussion. 

 

Theme,Culture; Type,Image; Type,Photography; Topic,Popular Culture; Theme,Postwar Japan;
Starbucks, coffee, commerce, globalization, Ueno Station, Tokyo, 2007, fast food, food, restaurants, internationalization,daily life