NAGAHAMA, Shiga Pref. -- Although Tamae Shibata has many hobbies to pick from to bide her time, they offer the 71-year-old little satisfaction.
What makes her life truly meaningful, she says, is running a business.
"Even though profits are small, it makes my life worth living and lets me think that I am contributing something to my town and society," says Shibata, who works about three days a week at a coffee shop on a shopping street near JR Nagahama Station.