Is life hard?  Do you desperately want people to hear what you have to say?  Maybe the stress of your work place is too much?  There must be a solution to these problems.  But some Japanese people would rather not try to improve their conditions or solve their problems.  Instead, they just cry:

Crying: Japan’s latest feel-good frenzy

Growing numbers of troubled Japanese are finding out that they can get over their woes by going out and having a bawl, according to Yomiuri Weekly (5/28).

Tearjerker movies, TV shows and books are now garnering unprecedented popularity as more Japanese discover the therapeutic effects of playing the crying game.

DVD rental chain Tsutaya has responded to the growth in the market by setting up special tearjerker corners in the Korean movie sections of eight of its biggest stores across Japan, including major outlets like Tokyo’s Shibuya, Sapporo and Hakata.

“Things changed a little from about the autumn of last year and a large number of customers started asking us to set up a section especially for tearjerkers and not just Korean movies alone,” Tsutaya’s Ryoko Maeda tells Yomiuri Weekly.

Yasushi Kamata picked up on the weep wave a couple of years back and started a website urging people to blubber over their cups.

“Stress was overwhelming me as I went through my divorce a few years ago, but after I watched a tearjerker movie, I suddenly found myself feeling much better,” Kamata says. “That got me interested in the idea of sobbing and I decided to start my site.”

Author Hiromi Yasuhara, who last year wrote “Shumatsu Gonaki no Susume (Recommending a Weekend Whimper),” is another caught up in Japan’s sudden sniveling seduction.

“Now is the time to cry,” Yasuhara bawls to Yomiuri Weekly. “During the 1980s and ’90s, it was a time for self-expression, a time to stand out from the pack and get your point across. Now, rather than being told to live your life the way you want to, people are being asked to shoulder more responsibility for themselves. I’d say life is becoming tougher for all generations of Japanese.”

Yasuhara continues: “More people want to forget about themselves and sympathize with others. They’re transferring their emotions.”

Indeed, some scientists argue that crying is a powerful way to combat stress, the relief of pent-up emotions also allowing worries to be washed away. Like Yasuhara, they advocate actively crying as a health measure.

Weepy website operator Kamata agrees.

“If you feel like crying, it’s far more natural to have a good bawl and let it all out,” he tells Yomiuri Weekly. “You’re the only person who can look after your own emotions. And looking after your emotions means you’ll look after yourself.” (By Ryann Connell)

May 18, 2006 (Mainichi  Daily  News)

Smart.