Having just about recovered from the shock of seeing the awfulness of the mascots selected for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ("Mascots chosen for Tokyo 2020" in the March 1 edition), I was again reduced to tears by the image of a beautiful new shinkansen train desecrated with pink "Hello Kitty" decorations (in the March 16 edition). Is there no limit to the depths of bad taste in Japan?
Perhaps the most startling outrage against common decency — verging on madness — is the NHK "News Watch 9" studio, every inch of which is covered with a bewildering jumble of meaningless patterns, colors and assorted junk. This tawdry hovel is the main TV news studio of the world's third-richest economy!
I never cease to be astonished at the amount of ugliness quietly tolerated by the famously beauty-loving Japanese. Is the lack of any public comment or criticism on these matters a sign of approval or simply complete and utter apathy?
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.