Once upon a time, articles used to appear in Japan's vernacular press disparaging the self-absorbed behavior of cellphone users — both as a violation of public manners and as a hazard to oneself and others. But by 2003, such tirades had almost completely vanished.
The Sankei Shimbun, in a rare exception back in January 2007, raised the topic of "enslavement to cellphones" as a serious social problem that had begun to disrupt proceedings in the National Diet. There, it reported, legislators could frequently be seen fiddling with 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."