A decade ago, many Japanese were so embarrassed to be seen eating alone in the school
or office cafeteria that they'd opt to eat in a bathroom stall. But many think Japan is
changing in a big way. One of those people is Miki Tateishi, a bartender in Tokyo. She
works at Bar Hitori, a cosy spot in the Shinjuku nightlife district that is designed for
solo drinkers. The bar, which opened in mid-2018, represents an unusual opportunity in
conformity-driven Japan - to go out and drink by yourself. And it's doing well: instead
of hiding in toilet stalls, people are stepping out and embracing being seen solo. In
many nations, being solo might not seem so surprising. But in a country where conformity
and being part of the group have always been highly-prized, it is a big deal. Japan's 125
million people are crammed into an archipelago a bit smaller than California - and
four-fifths of that land is moutainous and uninhabitable. Space has long been at a
premium, so emphasis has been placed on collectivity and fitting in with others. Part of
the equation is that Japanese society is undergoing a seismic demographic shift. The
birthrate is falling. The number of single-person bouseholds is rising. Declining
marriage rates are contributing to the rise in people who live alone but so too is the
fact that more seniors in one of the world's fastest-greying nations are becoming widows
or widowers. As a result, amid these new demographics, how consumers behave and how
businesses cater to them are changing. From dining to nightlife to travel, new options
catering specifically to individuals have popped up in recent years. Even karaoke is
going solo - a huge change to the classic Japanese pastime. In Japan, karaoke spots are
everywhere, often big buildings with several floors of private karaoke rooms built for
groups of various sizes. But demand from solitary singers has been growing, and o some
companies swapped large group rooms for phone booth-sized personal recording studios.