Regarding Michael Hoffman's Oct. 14 translation ("Senior citizens go mad, rampage through Japan") of a recent Shukan Bunshun article: I enjoyed this story so much. I have mixed feelings about this topic -- funny, sad, sympathetic, distaste.
Still, there is a bit of admiration for the "long-delayed" rebellion by some of Japan's old people. Perhaps they have been too disciplined most of their lives and just want to enjoy some unruliness before leaving this world! Perhaps Japan is changing, starting with the old instead of the young.
It reminded me of something I saw on TV this month: an episode of an old couple showing their emotions of happiness by talking aloud to initially stone-faced passengers on a crowded train, singing and asking the passengers to join them. The fact that they succeeded at last in their seduction thrilled me. I could see that the couple, especially the husband, took me back to an old lovely Japan that was nearer to other countries in many ways than today's super-modern Japan.
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