NIPPONIA

NIPPONIA No.19 December 15, 2001

Special Feature*

A New Center for Local Communities

Japanese convenience stores are truly convenient-you'll find them all over the place, and many of them are open 24-7. Local communities are looking at ways to make them even more convenient. The stores are assuming new roles and providing new services, becoming an integral part of their neighborhoods.

Written by Torikai Shin-ichi, Photos by Kono Toshihiko

Stores as a Haven for Children

There have been several terrible crimes against children in Japan recently, so local governments are taking steps to protect them and stop crime before it happens.

One of these measures has been to designate certain places in the community, mainly homes and stores, as havens where children can run and find protection from crime or emergency situations. These havens are given names like "Kangaroo Pouch" and "110 for Child Safety" (110 is the emergency phone number in Japan). A convenience store can be an ideal haven, because someone is always on duty there.

As part of this campaign, the Convenience Store Crime Prevention Council of Ibaraki Prefecture designated affiliated stores as havens for children, and coordinated its efforts with Ibaraki police headquarters. The Council was established by all convenience stores in the prefecture.

The Council printed stickers saying "110-Safe Store for Children and Women," and had them posted at the front of all affiliated convenience stores, starting on August 1, 2001. The stores have long been an integral part of local communities, and now they are expanding their role further.

You can buy some snacks at a convenience store for 10 or 20 yen-that's cheap enough for kids to quickly become fond of the place. This fondness leads to the feeling that they can use a store as a haven from crime.

Example of a sticker on convenience stores in Ibaraki Prefecture. It reads, "110-Safe Store for Children and Women."

Making Living Alone Easier for the Not-So-Young

A convenience store is almost ideal for people who live alone. This is particularly true in the case of older adults. I talked with one of them, Nishimura Kazuya, a company employee in Koganei City in the metropolis of Tokyo.

"Now that I'm pushing 60 I don't eat out much-I usually eat at home, taking it easy in front of the TV. I often buy ready-to-eat meals from a convenience store because it's open no matter what time I come home. You see, I don't cook for myself."

Convenience stores also sell salad, cooked side dishes and other prepared food, all just the right size for one person. Nishimura likes this "because there's no waste."

The stores are now going one step further by launching door-to-door delivery services. About a third of all am/pm convenience stores deliver food. Another chain, Seven-Eleven, delivers in Tokyo and some neighboring prefectures. In Itabashi, one ward in the Tokyo metropolis, FamilyMart delivers prepared meals and essential items to older adults who live alone, especially elderly people who can no longer shop for themselves.

"I wish convenience stores would sell a better variety of Japanese meals for people like me who are getting on in their years," says Nishimura Kazuya.

NIPPONIA