The March 7 decision by Japanese baseball's executive committee to drop the 3½-hour time limit on extra-inning games came as welcome news. We have observed the second anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, the subsequent tsunami and nuclear power plant problems that led to a period of setsuden (power-conservation measures).
In spite of the passing of the two-year mark, however, normalcy has not returned in some places. For example, in my city of Musashino west of Tokyo, the time-and-temperature board in front of Japan Railways Kichijoji Station remains blank.
Also, at a branch of our city office, an escalator leading from the first to second floor of the building is still shut down. Most likely, it has just not occurred to the city officials to turn on the digital board and restart the escalator.