The Japanese media have increasingly been raising concerns that Japan’s younger generations are no longer the bastions of mindless consumer capitalism they once were, with potentially dire consequences for the nation’s economy; a psychiatrist has even gone so far as to say this is a result of mass schizophrenia.
Psychiatrist Hideki Wada, known for a number of books and television appearances as well as some academic publications, claims the drop in consumption is not tied to anything so mundane as Japan’s long-running economic slump, but is instead a result of mental illness.

The notorious poverty of Japanese animators once again come in for scrutiny, with animators reportedly earning an hourly wage of only $3, less than a burger flipper.

Average incomes for anime industry employees are said to be pathetic even by Japanese standards – actual animators received an average annual wage of ¥1,050,000 ($10,000). Artists received ¥2,320,000, whilst performers could expect only ¥3,330,000 and even directors only received ¥4,950,000.
Looking at the results by age reveals it is most probably seniority and not merit which is the primary determinant of wages, a practice which became entrenched in Japan in the post-war period and still dominates the labour market – those in their twenties received an average of ¥1,100,000, those in their thirties ¥2,130,000, whilst those aged 40-60 found their earnings peaking at a meagre ¥4,000,000.
Actually dividing this income by hours worked (Japanese companies not infrequently demand massive amounts of unpaid overtime) reveals an even more pitiful truth – the average hourly wage for animators is estimated at ¥298 ($3), that for artists ¥689, and that for directors ¥1,412.

This is just too sad.......

*Moar Sauce*

A Korean man living in Japan has reportedly adopted 554 children in order to claim 86 million yen in annual child support payments.

The man, said to be a Korean in his fifties, approached the benefits office at the city of Amagasaki in Hyogo prefecture, where he enquired about the possibility of claiming child support for his children.
He introduced his Thai wife and explained that the couple, in addition to their own child, were now the legal guardians of all the orphans at a Thai monastery, and had the official documents to prove it.
He presented a list containing the details of 554 children – the clerk reportedly asked “Which child is yours?” to which he replied “All of them.”