Tokyo's entertainment districts are feeling the effect of the recent change in government.
Traditional Japanese restaurants, once the usual haunt of Tokyo's movers and shakers, first took a hit with the bursting of the bubble economy, suffering another blow following the Lehman collapse. Now, with their Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) regulars trounced in the latest election by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), restaurant owners are worried.
"First the bureaucrats go away, then the business leaders, and now the politicians. I hear the DPJ members hardly ever go out drinking to places other than izakaya bars. What's going to happen to ryotei (high-class restaurants) from now on?" one restaurant source says plaintively.
The recession has been tough for the ryotei. Famous names like Yonemura and Kanetanaka were once among the tens of restaurants dotting the Shinbashi "Flower Quarter" around Tokyo's Ginza. By this spring, however, just 10 were left, with another two famous spots closing only recently.
The remainder are diversifying frantically in an attempt to stay afloat, opening for lunchtime businesses, selling lunchboxes, taking online orders, and in some cases, being used for weddings.
"At one time, during an election or Cabinet formation there would be faction meetings almost every night, with dark cars lined up down the street, but now there are none," says one famous restaurant owner.
"Since the post-war economic growth period, we made all the arrangements and laid the groundwork, and we came to think of ourselves as the oil lubricating business, government and bureaucracy. We felt proud," says another veteran maitre d'.
"I admit that ryotei were the haunts of the factions and movers and shakers, but rejecting and criticizing them for that is very strange."
Another restaurant owner in Akasaka, near Nagatacho where the Diet is situated, says: "I hope at least the DPJ will get to grips with the economic problems."
In the '60s, there were around 1,500 ryotei across Tokyo. Now, there are just 50 or so scattered across the Ginza, Akasaka, Ningyocho, Kagurazaka, Mukojima and Asakusa districts. And the number of geisha in the city has plummeted from at least 10,000 to around 300.
All Japan Social Association head and owner of Yonemura, Masahiko Fujino, says: "Ryotei are places where you can come in direct contact with and understand traditional Japanese culture. I'd like DPJ members to dine at ryotei and be active in the international arena."
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