Two decades ago, it was still common to see articles in the media disparaging the lack of manners and self-absorbed behavior of mobile phone users. By around 2003, however, the phones had become so ubiquitous that the erstwhile complainers had most likely become phone addicts themselves.
In a rare exception, the conservative Sankei Shimbun raised the topic of ¡°enslavement to cellphones¡± in January 2007 as a serious social problem that had begun to disrupt proceedings in the Diet. Parliamentarians, it reported, could frequently be seen tweaking their phones.
¡°From the speaker¡¯s seat, you can see it going on. It¡¯s shameful,¡± Kozo Watanabe, a senior DPJ legislator, was quoted as saying. ¡°It seems we no longer have the sense of pride and responsibility that would serve as a good example to the people.¡±
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