Overwork - maye one resulting factor...

Public sleeping is a national past time here. In almost all cafes, in every single metro carriage, during speeches, or the endless ceremonies that mark the beginning and end of anything; young and old, sitting, or standing; a place feels kind of empty if it doesn't have atleast one person sleeping in the corner somewhere.

My particular favourite is watching the hords of morning ''surfing'' sleepers. While the metro carriage swings round corners, the TV's built into the wall of the train play silly advertising tunes and most 'normal' people would feel far too suffocated by the sardine experience to feel any tangible desire to sink into the vulnerability of dreamland, japanese commuters have gained the skill of hands-free kipping. They stand faces surean and calm as they slumber away their journey, eyes automatically opening at their stop, arms by their side. There are of course hilarious results whenever there is a jolt just slightly bigger than usual, when this happens they tumble into each other sending shock waves through the passengers. And I silently chuckle.


People here are so adapt at very public and some would say very inappropriate sleeping that last week at a symposium I witnessed what I feel to be a culminating point in my experience of catnapping japanese. As usual about four or five of the thirty audience members were taking a healthy 40 winks, heads lolled back, the earphones with the simultaneous translation either still inserted into the ears or resting on their knees. However, the discussant on the panel also felt the need to get what I am sure was some well deserved shut eye. The visiting professors looked slightly put out. Once the last paper had been read, with the perfect sense of timing that also tells commuters when they arrive at their stop, or babies when their mum has just got to sleep, the multitasking discussant opened his eyes from his after lunch siesta and engaged the visiting professors and the audience in some healthy academic debate. Although, 'debate' might be too strong a word as disagreement in my experience of japanese academics so far, does not seem that fervant. Sometimes I think this is because japanese culture is more group based and concerned with the harmony of the group over the concerns of the individual, or sometimes I have heard the idea that it is founded in the confucianist sense of not questioning hierachy upon which much of japanese culture is founded. But it might just be that everyone is too groggy, too tierd and after having just woken up they really just can't be bothered to argue.