´³²¹±è²¹²Ô¡¯²õ konbini?are beloved ¡ª a lifeline for the country¡¯s overworked parents and hungry salarymen as well as a must-see experience for tourists.
But they weren¡¯t always so welcome. In the decades since the first outlet was opened in 1974, the now nearly 60,000 convenience stores have been accused of a variety of offenses: crushing mom-and-pop stores, contributing to rural decline and accelerating a loneliness problem. According to the critics, they are ¡°strangely cold and unfriendly places¡± that have destroyed the shotengai, ´³²¹±è²¹²Ô¡¯²õ traditional, cozier shopping streets.
Toshifumi Suzuki, who died last week at the age of 93, was known as the ¡°father of the konbini.¡± He brought the 7-Eleven chain to Japan, radically overhauling the concept to local tastes and then re-exporting that model abroad. His success came from knowing when to ignore the critics. And his death not only invites a second look at the legitimacy of those complaints but, amid parent Seven & I Holdings¡¯ ongoing struggles, serves as a reminder of the merits of an unconventional approach.
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