Yes, Japan's xenophobia and jingoism are well-known. At the same time, they seem to like American "culture" that sweeps through Japanese cities like plague. Besides, I've read that when a fashion trend hits Japan, it spreads fast and becomes fairly universal, and almost everyone would be wearing it. Might have something to do with Japanese collectivism.
The current cosmetic surgery craze is no different, in my opinion. Even very young girls opt to go under knife:
Obsessed with physical appearance, girls who underwent cosmetic surgery this year are getting younger — a disturbing trend. Most of the younger patients, aged from 10 to 15, went with their mothers to the cosmetic surgery clinics. Many carried photos of their idols and requested operations to look like them. Both mother and child believed that for anyone to attain popularity was to look cute.
In a materialistic world, cosmetic surgery seems to be a quick solution to achieving personal success. Perhaps so, but there are many cases of failures that have been left untold. As long as society continues to idolize youth and beauty, the cosmetic surgery industry will make a killing for years to come.
Oh, and the most popular procedure among Japanese teens is "Asian blepharoplasty".
Of course, a strong perception that the "improved looks" will open doors to success is universal. American teens have a "nose job" and "boob job" done often enough.
(In the U.S., according to statistics provided by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 244,124 procedures were performed on patients ages 13 to 19 in 2006.)
Actually, when Monolith mentioned that a psychiatrist would be much cheeper, he was right on the money. It is estimated that many people undergoing plastic surgery (up to 15%) suffer from so-called body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). There was also a study that found that suicide rates among patients with BDD was 45 times higher than in the general population and the suicide risk among women with breast implants 2-3 times higher than the risk among other women. Go figure.