Living in Japan has given me this great idea for a comedy sketch. It’s based on a true story, by which I mean it actually, seriously happened.
Picture this, if you will:
A group of bored youths are seated in a concert hall, the walls lined with serious-looking government officials. One of the young men looks like a member of the yakuza, his bronze hair in tight curls reeking of an era long-since unfashionable in the Western world. The young women are dressed up in elaborate kimono, with only their hairstyles and excessive make-up betraying their modernity. They are half-way through their seijin-shiki (‘coming of age’ day), celebrating the new responsibility of this year’s 20-year olds.
A young, bright looking man steps onto the stage in front of the group. He is their motivational speaker.
This scene isn’t too unfamiliar so far, right? Take away the Japanese aspect of the scenario and you have a typical bunch of rowdy youths with new responsibility taking part in a typical motivational speech. This is their day.
The man does a few simple magic tricks to the bemusement of the young crowd. He tells a few jokes to get them “on-side”. Then, once he has their attention, he turns to them seriously and tells them what he’s here for; what every single one of them needs to know venturing out into the world of adulthood:
“What I’d like you to take away from this speech: Don’t kill yourself. Be thankful”
Yeah. That happened. Welcome to Japan.