Legless Japanese businessmen: the photographer who caught a Tokyo epidemic
theguardian.com
theguardian.com
of course not. In japan you have tons of options to spend a night in town for a few bucks. Go in a Karaoke at night, or an internet cafe (even some are "boxed" so that you have decent privacy to doze off)... it's far from being difficult. That is also why internet cafes have showers available...
> . But in the deferential, work-hard/play-hard, corporate culture of Japan, getting drunk and ending up stranded without a bed seems to happen all the time.
No. It's just statistics. When you are in a city with millions of people transiting, you are bound to see a lot more of people who are dead drunk on your journey because a lot more people pass by everyday.
The photographer has no clue about why this is happening. These folks who fall asleep anywhere don't think about "getting to a hotel", they are planning to go back home but are so drunk that they fall on the ground at some point. Making it into any other kind of societal critique is just stupid.
I've visited a few huge cities in North and South America dozens of times over my lifetime. I do not remember ever seeing people in non-ragged suits sleeping rough. Is anyone else's experience different?
If this is specific to Japan, that's worth pointing out, even if the explanation is speculative and may well be wrong.
Any other theories?
Those guys will wake up in the morning, purchase a ready-made set of clean shirt, deodorant, and tie in a shop, and go back to the office.
There are several additional factors:
- social drinking after work is "the norm" in Japan. Not every day, but several times a week is not uncommon. In large companies it is excepted that you would join such events, since it's pretty much a way to talk about work (and other things) in an informal context.
- alcohol is produced locally and there a very large industry pushing for consumption (and it is advertised everywhere).
- like in many Asian populations, there is a deficiency of the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme among Japanese, so a majority of people can't break down alcohol very efficiently and could get drink after just 2 beers. I have seen that happening over and over again - it's just genetics at play.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1762903/
> Electrophoretic and quantitative studies reveal that 85% of Japanese carry an atypical liver alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). The frequency of ADH polymorphism is identical with the reported frequency of alcohol sensitivity in the Japanese population. This identity in population frequencies points to a causative relationship between the two phenomena and suggests that alcohol sensitivity might be due to the increased acetaldehyde formation in individuals carrying the atypical ADH gene.
Culturally drinking still is expected behaviour in Japan. When you can't drink for a while because of medication or whatever reason, you will find yourself explaining and excusing yourself all the time; in part because of the Japanese cultural habit of filling eachother's glasses instead of your own — preferably in order of seniority.
Try that in Paris and you’ll wake up naked on the pavement.
- In Japan, sleeping in public is more common (0) - The workplace is more formal, meaning more men in suits (1) - Drinking after work is very common in Japan (2)
This means that sleeping outside is less taboo for salarymen, that they are more likely to wear a suit to work and they are more likely to head to the bar straight after work while still in their suit. In other places, I image people might change before heading to the bar or wear something different to work in the first place or might have more inhibition about sleeping in public.
(0) https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/world/what-in-the-world/j... (1) https://www.businessinsider.com/differences-between-japanese...] (2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomikai
Rate of stomach cancer around the world:
https://pmj.bmj.com/content/postgradmedj/81/957/419/F1.large...
Hard to think about getting robbed or being shot at.
As for an explanation of the behavior, I don’t think that was the point. This photographer is less interested in “the answer”, but is presenting “the question” in a new way. If you found it provocative then it worked.
it is not specific to Tokyo at all. Go to the center of Osaka, you will find drunk salarymen every day of the week.
Interesting, how long has this been the case? Is hoping for promotion realistic?
Dead drunk passed out on the ground? Hobos maybe, not dudes in suits. You rarely see this phenomenon in China or South Korea.
I'm pretty sure the difference in China is caused by communism of the past actively punishing homelessness. It was the same in Europe and the effect still remains: People hate and fear the homeless and would never consider sleeping on the street.
People do this because they know if they get that drunk and end up hell knows where, they are still completely safe and will be fine next morning. I am not sure there is another country where you can do this and not get robbed.
There are plenty of spaces to sleep in Tokyo if you are still semi conscious after a party. These guys were far beyond that.
Brit here. Off the top of my head: 'bladdered', 'blotto', 'hammered', 'pie-eyed', 'pissed as a newt', 'ratted', 'sloshed', 'squiffy', 'sozzled', 'trollied', 'wasted', 'wellied'
These typically result from a night 'on the lash' or 'on the piss',
Yes, they have passed out in public. But I still think people have some right to privacy.
I find your post confusing. While an appeal to privacy for the homeless makes sense, these men have (hypothetically) a choice to go home, or elsewhere, even if inconvient. I realize the article is hinting that the choice is not as voluntary as they would perfer, but that is a very different set of value judgements.
Even above the fold of their homepage they usually have one or two pieces about social justice. Then there's a steady stream of columnists that publish a daily stream of outrage pieces.
It's almost not a newspaper anymore but more of an activist-paper.
And your implication that these men don’t deserve for us to respect their dignity is absurd. Making choices you don’t agree with doesn’t invalidate their humanity.
Also this is an effective way to name and shame people against acting in such a way in public if you wish to do so. Some would argue that if you wish to avoid such a situation you should hold your drink better. Though that could just be passing the blame on the victim.
Note that this is not my personal opinion on the matter.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2017/01/22/how-tos/re...
The photographer and / or Guardian author can't seem to make the distinction between workers who got so smashed they pass out on the street, and workers who just missed their train. The latter certainly aren't going to collapse on the side walk in a "fashion-magazine look"
In Germany, at least in bigger cities, they have on weekends and holidays that public transit goes all night.
Then, why encourage people to stay out late...
In northern Europe you often hear the safety argument for affordable night-time public transport - “without that people may catch a unlicensed cab or try to walk home and get robbed, or worse”. But in Tokyo you the risk of something happening to you even if you pass out on the sidewalk is very very low.
* Japan is pretty safe. While it's not a good idea to sleep rough, you won't end up dead.
* The climate is rather mild. Unless it's mid-winter or a during a typhoon, the weather won't kill you either. * The culture of drinking after work.
* Lower alcohol tolerance, so it's easier to accidentally drink too much.
* That the Tokyo metro doesn't run at night, and many people live far from work.
Perhaps more interesting:
* A lot of people in Japan wear a business suit daily, but make very little money. Most people wear a suite to work unless it requires a uniform. Even then they might go to work in a suit and change.
* In general Japanese society is not class-aware. There are big economic differences, but you cannot immediately tell what somebody’s social class is.
* There isn't much of an underclass to provide cheap hotels and taxis.
Isn't Jaszczuk himself rather guilty of capitalist exploitation? That is, the exploitation of passed-out capitalists?