Yasushi Sano, 30, is a "cable guy" living and working in Tokyo. By his estimates, over the past six years, he has installed cable TV into about fives homes a day, averaging 25 hook-ups a week, 100 a month and 1,200 a year, bringing quality entertainment into a total of 7,200 households. Sano's passion for all things electronic was triggered at a young age, and audio systems and TV sets continue to have a magnetic power over him. He's also a car enthusiast, and loves driving around Tokyo's famed elevated highways, mesmerized by the beauty of the urban landscape.
Japanese might look Westernized but at home, we are still very Japanese. In about 90 percent of households people sit on the floor. Of course, they have a dining table with chairs, but the living room is set up so you can watch TV and lounge around the floor. Japanese can only relax with their shoes off, grounded, close to earth. And with a bowl of mikan (tangerines), of course.
Bad Japanese TV is great for business. Japanese TV channels all have the same dumb shows — except for the one super-great show called "Tamori Club" — so the population is so sick of the programming that everyone wants cable TV. Good for them and us!