PUBLIC CONTROVERSY, PRIVATE PAIN

Last month Ayumi Kuroda lost her job.  So, what's the big deal? 

Ayumi Kuroda, a glamorous television "morning personality" for NHK (the nation's premier broadcast network), lost her anchor role because she divorced her husband two years ago and kept the secret from both the public and her employer.  When the story eventually was unearthed by a sports weekly magazine, retribution (feminist and fan supporters contend) was swift.  She not only was immediately replaced but her resignation (including a public acknowledgment of her marital status, rumor had it due to her unwillingness to look after her ailing mother-in-law) was read over the air. 

The fire storm that broke in the wake of this action by her employer has yet to subside.  Hundreds of letters have flooded NHK offices; a column decrying the action as evidence of continued discrimination against women in Japanese society appeared in a leading newspaper.

Yet, at least publicly, Ms. Kuroda has taken the blame for the breakdown of her marriage upon herself: "The reason we divorced was due solely to my selfishness."  She is reported to have told friends the emerging reaction proved an excuse allowing her to resign from the hectic pace of a job that also kept her from her young daughter too much of the day.

Now many, adverse to any kind of public dispute over private matters, are hoping the public outcry will blow over quickly, allowing life to get back to its normal, smooth, nominally uncomplicated operation ...

HOME SWEET HOME, JAPANESE STYLE

I can also see anew why it is that many Japanese so appreciate uncluttered open spaces (like the Miyako Hotel's vast, very empty lobby) as evidence of life's ultimate luxury.