Inflation and teetotaling are taking a toll on izakaya, Japanese pubs where food and drinks are served in an informal, sometimes rowdy, setting.
In the first 11 months of this year, 203 of these establishments went out of business. That’s more than the 189 that went under in the whole of 2020 when COVID-19 became a pandemic.
Izakaya are usually small, cozy places where the work is labor-intensive and relatively personal.
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