Neondai

Neondai (Miranian: ネオン代, roughly translated as "neon decade") is a term that refers to the decade of the 1980s in Akashi. Following the political fragmentation and "siege economy" of the 1970s, the decade was marked by renewed economic growth, broad prosperity, political stability, and distinctive trends in pop culture.

Terminology

The term is a Miranian pun, combining nendai (年代, "decade") and neon (ネオン), derived from the neon lighting popularly associated with the decade.

Economic context

The 1970s were a troubled time for Akashi: the era of the "siege economy", marked by economic stagnation and industrial unrest. Economic growth was only 1,06% on average for the entire decade, although the governments of the day pursued a left-wing policy course under finance minister Naoko Nemoto, which kept unemployment and inequality down at the cost of higher inflation. The troubles culminated in a severe recession in 1979–1981, which hit the economy harder due to ongoing economic troubles in other Common Sphere trading partners such as Gylias and Delkora.

The 1980s saw the transformation of the economy and the adoption of a new export-oriented industrialisation policy. Government policies favoured small business and cooperatives, and the focus shifted towards exports and productivity growth. The social safety net was preserved and active labour market policies were introduced, securing the industrial peace necessary for additional reforms such as the cooperativisation of non-performing state-owned enterprises, national retraining programs, and the gradual restoration of the ryō to full convertibility.

Notably, the government preserved the norm of six-hour days and four-day workweeks that had emerged during the "siege economy", and sought to use the growth of high tech industries and new technology to increase productivity while reducing working hours.

The transformation had positive effects: the economy returned to growth, averaging 3,35% in 1982–1989. Inflation was reduced to normal levels in line with the broader Common Monetary System. Income distribution and real wages either remained constant or improved. The reinvigoration of the state-led development model allowed Akashi to weather industrial restructuring without a deterioration of social conditions: full employment was maintained during the transition to a post-industrial economy, and high tech industries displaced the old heavy industries in importance.

Political context

The destruction of the old National Union dominance by the Summer of Freedom gave way to a dominance by broadly left-wing governments in the 1970s. The 8th through 11th National Assemblies showed strong fragmentation, which allowed the better-organised crimson and pale crimson blocs to work together and secure centrist support to remain in office.

The right-wing was weakened by the mutual hostility of the light blue and dark blue blocs, which refused to work together. These trends culminated in the badly fragmented 12th Assembly, which failed to form a government, and brought popular frustration with political gridlock to its peak.

A political renewal began with the "kibi-yuru war" within the Conservative National Party, won by the "soft" (緩い yurui) faction led by Ran Tsukuda. Ran and her allies seized control of the CNP and transformed it into a progressive conservative party, purging hardliners and engineering a new membership. This ended the CNP's alienation from the broader centre-right, and brought it into the light blue bloc. It won the 1982 general election and formed the first centre-right government since the Akashian Civil War.

Ran's consensual style, talent for negotiation, and instinctively paternalistic conservative cabinet proved beneficial: her ability to preserve the egalitarian legacy of the "siege economy" while reinvigorating the economy made her a highly popular Prime Minister. The awaited "new republic" (新共和国 Shin kyōwakoku) was achieved through administrative reforms, decentralisation, and the Constitution of 1984, adopted by referendum.

Ran's popularity transferred to the centre-right that fashioned itself in her image: the CNP's landslide victory in 1986, coming one seat short of a majority, Emi Hanamura's win in 1985, and the centre-right winning all provinces in the 1988 provincial elections fueled speculation of a "blue wave" (青い波 aoi nami).

The effects of the blue wave included a decline in support for the dark blue bloc, which had reached its height during the protracted crisis of 1979–1981. The Socialist Party sought to give itself a similar rebrand during this period and move closer to the centre-left, with fateful consequences: some of its voters began to move to left-wing parties in protest, and it still floundered against the "blue wave" of 1986, obtaining its worst result since the Yurikara era.

Popular culture

The atmosphere of prosperity, stability, and technological innovation came to define the neondai era. In music, this produced the metro pop (都会ポップ tokai poppu) aesthetic, which achieved iconic status. Building on the previous innovations of Akashian pop and kayōkyoku, metro pop combined elements of soft rock, funk, jazz fusion, and synth-pop into an attractive package characterised by lush, synthesizer-heavy production, catchy hooks, and a consistent big city theme. Its best-known practitioner was Mari Takeuchi, one of the decade's most successful artists.

While the impact of new technologies and a distinct production aesthetic touched mainstream pop rock to an extent, the counterparts of metro pop included the power pop and pop punk scene, where Shonen Knife started their road to mainstream popularity, and the emergence of new genres like electronic dance music and hip hop.

In cinema and television, mainstream tastes shifted away from the tougher, sometimes politically-charged films and series that reflected the difficulties of the 1970s, and in favour of high concept works, glossy visual styles, and a blending of high and low culture, exemplified by subgenres like Michireiga.

The anime industry experienced a boom, with OVAs emerging in response to high demand as VCRs proliferated. Some defining series of the decade include the science fiction Bubblegum Crisis, the action caper series Cat's Eye, and the detective comedy City Hunter.

The video game industry also began its breakthrough to mainstream popularity in the decade, with representative titles including the Valis series and Time Gal, and an initially strong role in the console war.

Legacy

The neondai was ended by the neoliberal conspiracy. Ichirō Kondō's sudden overthrow of Ran and attempts to push through the neoliberal conspiracy agenda caused massive protests, a general strike, a referendum defeat, and ultimately another renovation of Akashian politics. Ran's progressive conservative faction left to form the Moderate People's Party and the "red wave" of 1990 delivered a victory to the Communist Party, whose leader Shinobu Furukawa famously proclaimed, "The nineties will be communist!".

Shinobu's government took the most radical left course since the 1970s, pushing strongly egalitarian policies that adapted rather than uprooted the changes of the neondai. An expansion of the cooperative and public sectors and increased economic planning through the Hermes Programme did not attempt to undo the industrial restructuring of the past, but rather harness the growth of the high tech and information technology sectors for communist purposes. Subsequent alternation between centre-right (2000s) and centre-left governments (2010s) have further built on these foundations.

Although the distinct production aesthetic of the 1980s lost mainstream appeal in favour of more "organic" production, the eclectic and cosmopolitan aspect of metro pop was carried over into A-pop, now with a postmodernist sensibility influenced by close ties with Neo-Gylian Sound and city pop scenes.

The 2000s to 2010s saw a resurgence of nostalgic interest in neondai and its distinctive aesthetics. An early sign of the revival was a new Bubblegum Crisis series in 1999–2000, which met with commercial and critical success. Explicitly nostalgic subgenres such as future funk and synthwave drew heavily on metro pop and the broader neondai atmosphere.