JAPAN: A revision to Animal Protection Law banning the late-night display of cats and dogs spells trouble for Tokyo's "cat cafes"

Record ID: 466109

  • Title: JAPAN: A revision to Animal Protection Law banning the late-night display of cats and dogs spells trouble for Tokyo's "cat cafes"
  • Date: 2nd March 2012
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PEOPLE PLAYING WITH CATS IN CAFE CAT PLAYING WITH TOY (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 41-YEAR-OLD COMPANY EMPLOYEE, TATSUO KARUISHI, SAYING: "If I can't see the cats, well, I won't come. Of course I come to the cafe because there are cats here." (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 23-YEAR-OLD COMPANY EMPLOYEE, AYUMI SEKIGUSHI, SAYING: "It's a great place, it calms the stresses of working life. But if this law gets though, that enjoyment is going to disappear, it's a real shame." CAFE STAFF MEMBER GROOMING CAT STAFF MEMBER HOLDING HAIR BALL STAFF MEMBER SCRATCHING CAT'S HEAD (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) CAT CAFE MANAGER, HIROMI KAWASE, SAYING: "If our business hours go down by two hours, and we lose two hours worth of profits, then of course it's going to affect us, but it's also going to affect the cats. You know, getting in all the things they need to grow like the correct amount of food, the nutrition they need." CAT SITTING ON FLOOR MORE OF PEOPLE PLAYING WITH CATS CAT SITTING ON SHELF
  • Embargoed: 17th March 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA2095Q8ZKBBZ8OGEZPRKII36J4
  • Story Text: Times are looking tough for Tokyo's cat cafes.
    At businesses like Hiromi Kawase's, it is the post-work rush that brings in the cash, when tired professionals relax with a cat and a cup of tea.
    But now the purrs of delight could be getting quieter.
    A revision to Japan's Animal Protection Law, due to come into force on June 1, will slap a curfew on the public display of cats and dogs, forcing cat cafes to shut up shop at 8pm.
    "There's this new revision which says we should be open from eight in the morning up until eight in the evening, but after 8pm we have to put the cats in the back, away from the customers, and shut up shop," Kawase told Reuters.
    "Everybody knows cats are really happy in the evening, with their big, cute eyes. So I just can't understand why the guys at the top are ignoring that, it's really strange."
    The government says the target of its tighter animal protection regulations is Japan's breed of late-night pet shops, which often sell cats and dogs around the clock.
    Kawase's cafe is far from a 24-hour business. Her doors close at 10pm, but she says many of white collar customers only arrive from work about 8pm and stay right to the end.
    "If I can't see the cats, well, I won't come. Of course I come to the cafe because there are cats here," 41-year-old cat aficionado Tatsuo Karuishi told Reuters.
    "It's a great place, it calms the stresses of working life. But if this law gets though that enjoyment is going to disappear, it's a real shame," 23-year-old Ayumi Sekigushi said.
    Both Karuishi and Sekigushi visit the cafe at least twice a week and they usually check in around 8pm.
    But while Kawase says the lost business hours will take a toll on her profits, it's the future for her cats that worries her most.
    "If our business hours go down by two hours, and we lose two hours worth of profits, then of course it's going to affect us, but it's also going to affect the cats. You know, getting in all the things they need to grow like the correct amount of food, the nutrition they need," she said.
    Visitors to Kawase's cafe pay about 1,000 yen (12 U.S. dollars) an hour to play with any of her 24 cats, with drinks priced from around 300 yen (4 U.S. dollars).
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