Who said Japan is healthy? I beg to differ!

Like any other industrialized nation, obesity is becoming a problem in Japan, with nearly 30 percent of male adults found to be overweight in a survey released Tuesday by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor.
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I could not agree more on this one. I was surprised to see an ongoing trend of women getting thinner and thinner and men...well quite the contrary, bigger and bigger! Most single men dine out at Japanese fast food places like Yoshinoya, Sukiya, and ramen shops - beef bowls and greasy spoon ramen fare clogs up arteries like bacon fat in a drain pipe! Ewww.

If you consider men in Tokyo who must attend obligatory after-work drinking sessions (supposedly for bonding and improving camaraderie among fellows) undoubtedly a night full of shochu Japanese distilled liquor, sake, beer, and fried salty food to accompany it all. Chomp chomp, swig with alcohol...(repeat many times).

Japan's dietary habits are changing. Men and women eat less soy products, consume less milk than ever, have increased the amount of meat in their daily diet...edging toward a more Westernized food fare. Importing some Western ideas are great and all but as for the fast-food and degradation of fine cuisine - keep it to yourself says I!