JAPAN: Thousands of Japanese workers flock to Tokyo shrine to pray for good business in 2013, as Japan's new government fights to turn around the country's economic fortunes

Record ID: 466836

  • Title: JAPAN: Thousands of Japanese workers flock to Tokyo shrine to pray for good business in 2013, as Japan's new government fights to turn around the country's economic fortunes
  • Date: 4th January 2013
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JANUARY 4, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SHRINE-GOERS GATHERED IN KANDA MYOJIN SHRINE JAPANESE FLAG SHRINE-GOERS THROWING MONEY INTO DONATION BOX FOR GOOD LUCK MONEY BEING THROWN INTO BOX MAN THROWING MONEY INTO BOX AND PRAYING MORE OF PEOPLE IN SHRINE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE THROWING MONEY INTO BOX AND PRAYING MONEY IN BOX (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 45-YEAR-OLD REAL ESTATE AGENT, YASUNARI MATSUOKA, SAYING: "Well above all I want Japan's economic gloom to clear up, and the future to look brighter." (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 45-YEAR-OLD INTERNET BUSINESS EMPLOYEE, SHUICHI YOSHIHARA, SAYING: "What I really want, what I'm expecting, from the government this year are policies that turn around the economy, in particular those that increase consumption." PEOPLE QUEUING AT STALL SELLING FORTUNE MESSAGES VARIOUS OF MAN SHAKING BOX CONTAINING NUMBERED STRAWS THAT CORRESPOND TO NUMBERED FORTUNE MESSAGES WOMAN HANDING MESSAGE TO MAN PEOPLE QUEUING AT STALL MAN FOLDING FORTUNE MESSAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 50-YEAR-OLD INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR EMPLOYEE, MASANAO YOSHIDA, SAYING: "I want the government to create an environment that lets people work, and a foreign policy that allows Japan to make its views heard." (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 42-YEAR-OLD COMPANY EMPLOYEE, TOMOMI SUGAHARA, SAYING: "Whether it's politics or business, this year I want Japan to become a place that women can get more involved in." WOMAN DRESSED IN SHINTO RELIGIOUS CLOTHING RATTLING BELL IN SHRINE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE PRAYING IN SHRINE SHINTO PRIEST LEADING PRAYERS MORE OF PEOPLE PRAYING PEOPLE RAISING HEADS AFTER PRAYERS
  • Embargoed: 19th January 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA9CCWOP4NKCOFH5W8CNDXJC8JF
  • Story Text: On Japan's first business day of 2013, thousands of Japanese workers flocked to a shrine in Tokyo on Friday (January 4) to pray for good luck for the coming year.
    Casting money into a donation box and praying at the Kanda Myojin shrine is a yearly rite for many of Tokyo's white-collar workers.
    More than 300,000 people are expected to head to this Shinto shrine in the first days of 2013.
    This year, Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is looking to turn around the country's economic fortunes, boosting exports and consumption with a policy of aggressive monetary easing.

    "Well above all I want Japan's economic gloom to clear up, and the future to look brighter," 45-year-old realtor Yasunari Matsuoka said.

    "What I really want -- what I'm expecting -- from the government this year are policies that turn around the economy, in particular those that increase consumption," added Shuichi Yoshihara, an I.T. sector employee.
    Abe, who led the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to victory in December, has also promised to take a tough stance on foreign affairs and boost the number of women in front line professional roles.

    "I want the government to create an environment that lets people work, and a foreign policy that allows Japan to make its views heard," 50-year-old IT sector worker Masanao Yoshida told Reuters.

    "Whether it's politics or business, this year I want Japan to become a place that women can get more involved in," Tomomi Sugahara said.
    While Friday is technically the first business day of 2013 in Japan, employees traditionally do little work, often heading to shrines, visiting clients to pass on New Year greetings, and leaving for home at lunchtime.
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