41,360

That's how many convenience stores (Conbinis) there are in Japan. That number sounds high, and mathematically, it's about one Conbini per 3000 people. However, in Hagi there are about 7 conbinis (so that's 1 for every 750o people) and in smaller places there are even less conbinis per person.

When you walk around Tokyo or Kyoto you see where all the 'extra' Conbinis are, so when I read an article on Reuters which talked about efforts by the Kyoto Government to convince Conbinis to close overnight I was really surprised/horrified. Apparently the Government thinks that it will improve the views over the city, and reduce carbon emissions. The carbon emission argument seems futile to me - I mean, the shops will still have to have all the fridges and stuff on inside. I will be really surprised if the Government wins this one!