We explore the interplay of the following elements:

neoliberalism

romance/intimacy

identity

technology

attention economy

crime/deviance/exploitation

Our ongoing fieldwork includes those with vigilante YouTubers, victims/survivors of romance fraud, supporters of Ririchan the grantee gal, and those living and being active in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Recently published:

Demelius, Yoko and Yutaka Yoshida. 2025. “Ririchan the ‘Grantee Gal’: Post-Feminism, Social Media, and the Celebrification of a Female Fraudster in Neoliberal Japan”, Asia-Pacific Journal Japan Focus, vol 23. https://doi.org/10.1017/apj.2025.10024 

Yoshida, Y. 2025. Therapeutic but toxic spaces: Romance fraud victimization from a psychosocial perspective. Journal of Economic Criminology 9, article number: 100168. (10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100168) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconc.2025.100168

Demelius, Yoko and Yutaka Yoshida. 2025. “Technologies of the YouTuber Self: Digital Vigilantism, Masculinities and Attention Economy in Neoliberal Japan”, Global Crime, 26(2), 120–147. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17440572.2025.2451833