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From: declan_murphy@hotmail.com
Newsgroups: fj.life.in-japan
Subject: Re: Is japanese culture based on gay sex?
Date: 2 Aug 2006 18:20:32 -0700
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<newsgroups trimmed>
TXZZ wrote:
> REally, it does make sense.<snip>

No it doesn't. As the negi explains, this is just a straight forward
economic issue.

Analysts are closely watching a trend that is disturbing the delicate
balance of Japan's once egalitarian society. While 15 years ago it was
possible for even the most lowly paid workers to own a 200,000 yen bag,
that common staple of life is becoming increasingly out of reach for
the growing lower strata of Japanese society. While blame is with the
post-bubble economy, it doesn't make it any easier for those earning an
amount per hour that could feed a family in Chad for a month. Ten years
ago, that was almost unthinkable, with newly graduated students making
enough per hour to feed a family in Chad for at least 6 to 8 months.
Some seek to cope with depressed wages by altering spending patterns,
buying Louis Vuitton wallets instead of bags. An office worker in
Shinsaibashi admitted to The Negi that "I just haven't been able to
make enough with my day job to subsist, so I've been working nights
giving hand jobs to elderly men."
Interestingly, one elderly man told The Negi that "I've had to let
thirty-four non-essential staff go at my company to cut costs because I
just haven't been able to afford hand jobs anymore." While no one is
sure what effect this class imbalance will have on the future, analysts
predict that Japanese will remain unable to pronounce the letters on
the bag, "L" and "V", for many more years to come.

http://www.seekjapan.jp/article-1/724