According to a Yomiuri survey, 72% of Japanese profess no belief in religion of any sort. Of course, as you might expect from these kinds of statistics, things are a little more nuanced than at first they seem, though the general ambivalence of the Japanese to religion does not appear to be in doubt.
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Japan hasn’t changed a bit? It certainly seems some things are a constant presence. See below for the full comparison (H), and here for more ancient manga. Source here.
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Two rather similar stories come to my attention via Itainews, one alleging that Japanese youth are suffering from a decline in literacy and historical knowledge, and another asserting the Japan’s sex trade is facing dire straits because young men no longer have the sex drive they once had (presumably they are pursuing alternatives rather than abstinence, although the article doesn’t address this for reasons which will become obvious).
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A renter is suing his landlord based on the fact he was not told the property is supposedly haunted, for ¥5,000,000 ($50,000 – not insignificant by the paltry standards of Japanese settlements). He apparently rented the property ignorant of the alleged supernatural presence, opened an eatery there, and after being told by a friend of the ghostly presence, he claims to have witnessed spectral apparitions and heard strange noises. Now he wants his key money back, as well as some compensation to make up for the undead onslaught.
This sort of thing actually has a whole body of legislation and jurisprudence surrounding it – it is called “stigmatised property”, and frequently there is a duty to disclose such circumstances, though the actual existence of spectres is not something the courts care to deal with. Though usually this applies to not being able to resell a property, rather than merely being an inconvenienced renter. On the other hand, these properties can be made into valuable investment opportunities. Via Itainews.
Look closely at the photos. I saw this slightly bizarre story over at Asahi. A Japanese company is apparently pioneering a new technique for demolishing high rise buildings, one floor at a time, starting from the bottom floor, whilst the structure remains standing. Asahi likens it to darumaotoshi. Details follow.
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