A Economists suggest that a competitive society brings about more
variation in income.
(B) In part, salaries have come to depend on how well employees perform
their duties.
(C) Many part-timers are not entitled to health insurance,
m) More part-time workers are joining the Japanese workforce.
E People can expect to continue working for one company until they
retire.
- i -
Japanese people are generally considered the healthiest in the world.
According to the World Health Organization, they can expect to live longer, on
average, than any other group of people on earth. This long life expectancy
has often been attributed to the Japanese diet and eating habits, However, the
Japanese diet. and eating habits have been changing recently and the effects of
these changes are causing alarm.
Traditionally, the Japanese cuisine is widely regarded as one of the
healthiest in the world. Quite often, Japanese food is served raw or cooked
lightly. These days, however, the traditional Japanese diet has been giving way
to a more varied cuisine, Non-traditional Japanese food, such as pasta and
hamburgers, is becoming as common for the average Japanese person as soba
and sushi. In addition to greater variety. Japanese people today arc eating
more fatty foods. The Japanese also have begun to change their diet away
from fresh and raw food towards highly processed meals. It is not uncommon
for Japanese children to eat hamburgers, deep-fried chicken and pizza. The
popularity of such foods is evident in the increasing number of fast food
restaurants that have opened in Japan, many of which are attracting not only
teenagers but also families.
The changing eating habits are also cause for concern. In the past, a
member of the family used to spend considerable time shopping for fresh
ingredients and preparing daily meals for the family. Today, more people live
alone in comparison to previous decades. The practice of shopping for food
and preparing fresh meals, which was formerly performed by one person in a
household, often proves to he too difficult a daily task for the individual person.