Regarding Michael Hoffman's July 13 Big in Japan column titled "The high cost of peace and quiet": Who are these cunning, selfish entrepreneurs who think that they can just barge into any quiet neighborhood and establish a noisy day care center? Outrageous! I'm in agreement with those residents up in arms over such mean-spirited development plans. Besides, such day care centers are just another sign of the creeping influence of Western liberalism and its feminist agenda.
Myself, I would much prefer to live next door to a retirement home for the elderly or to a hospice for the terminally ill. The aged are so much quieter than the loudmouthed pre-adolescent brats who dare to run wild on school playgrounds across Japan — though in rapidly diminishing numbers. Better yet, why not live next door to a cemetery? Ghostly quiet.
All kidding aside, has Japan gone completely bonkers? Children are Japan's future, however bleak it might seem. I fear that Japan is losing faith in its own future. Is this the mood of post-3/11 Japan — to live only for today? Someday few couples will have children, but every household will have a cute robot. When you tire of the childlike robot, just switch it off.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.