Many Japanese workers suffer stress from a harsh working environment, and some animals too, appear to be no exception. Feline employees in cat cafes are reportedly working long hours and in sometimes unsanitary environments, receiving no salary or cash rewards.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government handed the Neko no Te (Cat's Paw) cat cafe in Sumida Ward a 30-day business suspension on Thursday over its poor hygienic environment that led to the cats developing sicknesses. This is the first time in Japan for a cat cafe to be handed such a suspension.
According to a metropolitan government official, in June the cafe reported it was keeping 10 cats inside the store in its 30 sq.-meter space, but 62 were found during an on-site inspection in December.