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A job for life, or not? A class divide deepens in Japan.

Setsuko Hikita at her home in Tokyo on Nov. 15. Hikita sued her employer for paying her less than many of her co-workers and denying her a retirement allowance. | NORIKO HAYASHI / THE NEW YORK TIMES

Setsuko Hikita at her home in Tokyo on Nov. 15. Hikita sued her employer for paying her less than many of her co-workers and denying her a retirement allowance. | NORIKO HAYASHI / THE NEW YORK TIMES

By Makiko Inoue and Ben Dooley
The New York Times

Nov 28, 2020

For more than a decade, Setsuko Hikita spent her working days selling snacks and newspapers in the bowels of Tokyo’s bustling metro system.

Amid the chaos of morning commutes and the scramble to catch the last train home, she kept her employers’ tiny kiosks a haven of well-ordered commerce. Her company once awarded her a citation for her dedication and hard work.

What it did not give her was equal pay.

Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night’s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.

Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights

By Tomoko Otake

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan’s landscape that they often go unnoticed.

Why Japan’s utility poles won’t be disappearing anytime soon

By Alex K.T. Martin

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