Time was, the gold standard for hair in Japan was, well, some Hollywood celebrity.

But I was struck this past spring while in Japan to see a shampoo commercial not only featuring all Japanese women, but also taking a sort of “celebrate Japanese women in general” stance to the SMAP tune “Dear Woman.”

Japan Times has an article on this phenom, claiming:

“Westerners are saying Japan is cool, and that view is winning acceptance in a kind of reverse import,” she said. “Shiseido’s advertising didn’t even talk about the shampoo’s features. Its message, that Japanese women on the go are beautiful, was more about a feeling.”

Of course, if you are a regular reader of Japundit, then you know we’ve been harping on this “reverse import” business for a while. Then there’s this:

“Our message really appealed to Japanese women, who are starting to awaken to a sense of self-confidence,” said Hiroyuki Ishikawa, who oversees hair care at Shiseido. “Up to now, Japanese women haven’t generally been chosen as global symbols of beauty.”

Riyo Mori, anyone? Maybe Hiro’s future (er, past) girlfriend is already having an impact. (And on a somewhat related note, I was intrigued to learn that my entire Riyo Mori post is on Ines Ligron’s blog . . .)