Staff writer A typical busy morning at this "bento" delivery shop in Tokyo's Taito Ward starts at 9 a.m., when around 15 workers come to prepare over 100 boxed lunches to be delivered to nearby office buildings.
With each worker skillfully doing his or her part, the shop seems no different from other bento shops, except that a one-hour meeting to review employees' mental state takes place after each shift.
The bento shop, Karen, is one of about 1,600 such establishments set up throughout the country to employ psychiatric patients who live outside hospitals while receiving medication.