But ads for Tsubaki, the latest hit from a local cosmetics maker, Shiseido, feature famous Japanese women and an unusually direct slogan: “Japanese women are beautiful.”

The message has struck a chord at a time when Japanese women are increasingly looking to role models in their own ranks, rather than stars from abroad, for definitions of their self worth. Advertisers are beginning to recognize that.

“Japanese women are starting to have confidence in themselves,” said Yoko Kawashima of Itochu Fashion System, a marketing company.

For decades, beauty standards in Japan were dictated by the West, home to famous fashion houses like Christian Dior and Gucci, which remain extremely popular in Asia.