Happy Monday!

It seems there's no aspect of Japan that can't be made more kawaii. Whether it's a big, faceless bank adopting a little chipmunk as its official character or the post office using an anthropologic mailbox to promote its services, Japan's culture of cuteness is everywhere. It just seems to come naturally to the Japanese, and when you've been in here a few years, you don't think twice about Sukiya using little beef bowl characters to illustrate its lineup of products to customers. Cuteness is often used to break up something that would otherwise be monotonous, and the user's manual for most any home electronics product sold here will probably show a manga version of the product smiling if it's working correctly, and groaning with pain to indicate a problem. The Japanese government is no stranger to using cuteness to make its programs more acceptable to citizens. If you're looking for a job, you'll need to visit your city's local Hello Work, which is what the local employment office is called. (Their website features a computer reading through a book of job listings, with a Japanese headband on to show us how serious he is about finding a job.) Similarly, when the Japanese government wanted to promote a more leisurely lifestyle among families it adopted a system whereby holidays that formerly fell on weekends or in the middle of the week would be moved to the nearest Monday, allowing more three-day weekends. The official name for this new policy is the "Happy Monday."

Speaking of Happy Monday, today is a holiday in Japan, Seijin-no-hi or Coming of Age Day. Venture into any Japanese city today and you'll see hundreds of 20-year-olds decked out in the finest kimonos and sparkling new suits, greeting each other and taking group photos together. In Japan, the official age of adulthood is 20 (as commemorated in our wacky "you must be 20 years old to purchase tobacco and alcohol" T-shirts), and today is a special day to mark their official debut as shakai-jin (lit. "society-person"), or full-fledged members of society. Today, 20-year-olds throughout the country will endure long speeches by elderly community leaders, have lunch with friends, then go drinking in the evenings to enjoy their new freedom. For parents it's a proud day too, and doting fathers are all too happy to plunk down $5000 for a gorgeous kimono that their daughters will in all likelihood wear only once.