How we hate each other.
The pertinent Japanese word is kireru, suggestive of a sudden outburst of uncontrollable rage. The Asahi Shimbun last month described a kireyasui shakai (a society in which it¡¯s easy to lose your temper). Surveying 1,586 individuals at random, it found 29 percent admitted they had exploded at strangers. Thirty-nine percent said they¡¯d been victims of explosions. Seventy-six percent said they feel explosiveness rising.
¡°On a train station platform I asked a young man to stop smoking. ¡®Old hag!¡¯ he shouted. Then he spat in my face.¡±
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