, Columnist
Did I Fall Victim to Japan’s Stealth Productivity Killer?
Hay fever isn’t just a nuisance, in Japan it causes serious economic damage. And the number of sufferers is only increasing.
Hay fever in Japan is a political and economic problem.
Photographer: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images
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On a recent spectacular spring day, I took a walk from Tokyo’s Shibuya to the hip district of Shimokitazawa. It was one of the year’s first days of T-shirt weather, and the cherry blossoms were blooming.
But by the time I arrived, my eyes were itchy and watering, my throat scratchy, and I began hacking and sneezing. There was only one possible cause, I figured: After more than two decades in Japan, it was time for my “debut.”