Differences in familiarity with computers are creating ever-wider gaps within the ranks of Japan's salarymen. Evening tabloid Nikkan Gendai (July 17) reports on the emergence of a new type of person at companies who never stops typing on his PC, even while being spoken to by a colleague.
Such people have been tagged katakata-zoku (the clickety-clack tribe), derived from the noise they generate from their keyboards.
"Our section's 'Katakata-kun' types away furiously during meetings," says a 39-year-old worker at an IT firm. "Then when the meeting ends he'll say, 'Hai, dekimashita' ('All done') and begin shooting off e-mails with the minutes of the meeting to all the participants. I suppose it's convenient to have it, but I told him that he really ought to take part in the discussions as well."