Due to Japan’s stubbornly stagnant economy, small business owners in particular have suffered enormously. The heady days of the bubble becoming a dim and distant memory as deflation and debt have become the new watchwords.
A sorry state of affairs that has been especially tough for shop owners, with the competitive streets of the Japanese capital casting many adrift; price-cutting and the increasing proliferation of big companies leaving many little option but to leave and lock their doors for good.
Yet for those with a never say die attitude and the ability to diversify, there is hope. An approach embodied by the barbershop pictured below. As threatened with closure due to competition, the owner opted to offer something different — namely a beer or two along with a newly trimmed bouffant.
Perhaps.
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