Drinking on a Tokyo Street: Damn the Climate Change, Inflation, and the Pandemic

Not a day goes by in Japan in recent weeks that the topic of unusual weather hits the news. From record heat (40 degrees in June!) to clearly changing weather patterns (shortest rainy season on record) to difficulties of regular people handling the weather (the government urges people to cut back on electricity consumption), it seems as if this year will be a year to be remembered in future generation as the year when global warming and climate change went from mere slogans of a faraway land to real difficulties for everyday lives during the ever-longer, ever-dryer, ever-hotter summers.

But once one stops seeing alarming articles on news websites and goes out into the streets, a whole new Japan emerges. Even as both the national and local governments warn people of the need for social distancing amidst threats of more than 2000 new COVID infections per day and the still-possible emergence of new, more viral varients of the pandemic, Tokyo, at least, is seeing an almost complete revival of its street life. Even on a weekday, streets full of eateries and drinking dens heave with workers out of offices but still in suits.

On these drinking streets, the hot weather and electricity shortage seems to be entirely forgotten. Shops are not stingy with power as they light up all their neon signs and outdoor lighting. Customers sit around wooden tables and chairs right on the streets, too drunk to care that the thermometer can reach 30-something degrees past dinner time. No one seems to want to be reminded, despite the ubiquitous face masks, that the pandemic is still going strong and a maximum number of diners per group is still somewhat applicable.

And while people forget about the hot weather and COVID, they also seem to care little about a great bout of inflation underway because of a shortage in imported grains and energy, both something Japan, as a country with an especially acute lack of natural resources, is keenly dependently upon just to function normally. The fact that the average paycheck in Japan has not gone up during the past few years (honestly, more like the past 30 years) has not stopped those seeking merriment to part with their cash with little constraint.

The average street drinker's lack of hesitation toward spending money certainly does not square with the supposed public sentiment of unhappiness toward the current economic situation. A steep depreciation of the yen, as the Bank of Japan keeps the interest rate low while other major economies hike the rate to rein in inflation, should have made the disposable income of the average salaryman low, especially considering the ingredients of his food and drinks are mostly imported using dollars. Streetside surveys by Japanese media outlets found outrage at higher costs, but the sentiment seems absent among the drinkers of the night.

Perhaps the drinkers are among the lucky few that have not seen any personal economic damage stemming from either the pandemic or the current economic crisis? It is difficult to say. After all, the really rich would not be sitting on wooden stools on a rowdy street, surrounded by the discomfort of other sweaty men. And there are simply too many customers on the streets to say they are all above average for income by Japanese standards. Either they are all reckless with their money, or inflation is not nearly as terrible as people would say on TV.

Of course, it is never certain just how long the spendthrifty will remain spendthrifty. Just because the Japanese economy has seen, compared to other major economies, relatively little inflation and economic disruption at the grassroots level until now, it does not mean the country will not see a more negative effect soon. The fact that the country is seeing an ever-fewer number of young workers earning good money (a reality driven home by the fact that most of the drinkers on the street are middle-aged) means that at least the tertiary sector of the economy will stagnate even with no more COVID-related restrictions. 

But for now, people enjoy their cold drinks and bright lights, damn the hot weather. In a Japan that has long forgotten what it is like to have extraordinary economic growth, the people will have to settle for keeping the current reality as vibrant and dynamic as possible. All the drinkers on the street are doing their own little part in ensuring that the world's third-largest economy stays that way despite an ever-smaller, poorer population. Enjoying the moment, then, becomes paramount for maintaining a belief in national success, whatever the climate, the pandemic, and the economic situation may be.