Let's return to kyaraben キャラーベン ("character lunchbox") to discuss some general issues pertaining to the phenomenon of elaborate lunch box meals. One of my colleagues suggested that it is the result of the nature of Japan's middle-class society and shōshika 少子化 ("falling birthrate"). If you don't have money or you have five kids, you can't do it. Another factor may be that most Japanese women, once they choose to get married and start their families, devote their t...
