During the night of March 9–10, 1945, the U.S. Army Air Force conducted “Operation Meetinghouse,” the firebombing of Tokyo. It was the most brutal air operation of World War II, more destructive than the bombing of Dresden, the London Blitz, Hiroshima, or Nagasaki. Estimates suggest the firestorm caused by American bombs killed 80,000 to 100,000 civilians in that single night. Some one million people were left homeless.
Major General Curtis LeMay had assumed command of the Japanese home islands air war in January 1945, and rejected the strategy of precision bombing of military and industial targets in favor of the carpet bombing of civilian areas. Older readers may be familiar with LeMay’s name. He tried to institute the same type of wholesale civilian destruction during the Vietnam Conflict.
Japan’s national culinary treasure, sushi, was automated in 1958, when Yoshiaki Shiraishi, the Henry Ford of sushi, opened the first kaiten sushi (回転寿司 “revolving-sushi”) restaurant in Osaka. Today, the $5.1 billion business of conveyer belt sushi is dominated by four giant chains: Sushiro, Kura Sushi, Hama Sushi, and Kappa Sushi.
Competition between the big 4 firms is keen as a sashimi bōchō knife, and led to some bluefin-tuna-sized scandals this year. Last month, Tokyo police smelled something fishy, and arrested the president of Kappa Sushi for stealing corporate secrets from rival Hama Sushi. He later resigned. And in June, Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency reprimanded Sushiro for promoting a sea urchin sushi 90 percent of their outlets didn’t actually carry.
Japan’s young people aren’t drinking up, the number of the nation’s older imbibers is shrinking, and nightlife is down due to COVID, so tax revenue from alcohol is down. To boost boozing, the National Tax Agency’s new “Sake Viva!” contest invites youngsters to submit business ideas to encourage alcohol consumption. You can even submit entries from abroad if they’re written in Japanese. Kanpai! (“Bottoms Up!”; “Cheers!”).
More:
“Japan has a message for its young adults: Drink more alcohol,” Rachel Pannett and Julia Mio Inuma, Washington Post
“Drink Up, Japan Tells Young People. I’ll Pass, Many Reply.” Hikari Hida and John Yoon, New York Times
Image (“Young Beauty With iPhone, after Kikugawa Eizan”) by Mike Licht. Download a copyhere. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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If you lose a wallet or a phone in Japan, you will most likely be reunited with it. The country has one of the most effective Lost and Found processes in the world. The system relies on the honesty of the finders and a national culture of reporting, cataloguing, and storing lost property. A BBC video by Terushi Sho.
More:
“Japan’s Lost-and-Found System Is Insanely Good,” Allan Richarz, Bloomberg CityLab
Architect Takeshi Hosaka built himself a house that would supply the five elements that ancient Romans said were needed for a perfect life: knowledge, bathing, drama, music, and food. He did it in 190 square feet.
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