Mid September 2008
The collapse of Lehman Brothers and the associated domino effect of banks around the world has been the talk of the school gates recently. Most of the expats here are from banking circles and their future is suddenly very uncertain.
Most of these workers get paid outrageous sums of money with mega-zero bonuses which are usually ostentatiously displayed on their wives' fingers or in their ears as huge diamonds. There are exceptions to this stereotype of course!
The downside to their over-high salaries is the fact that they could be asked to move at any time, with no notice, or in this case, lose their jobs entirely.
There's a lot of unrest. Expat bankers have been warned they will be the first to leave in the event as the government here will protect the Japanese workers – gaijin will go first.
It's at times like this that I thank my lucky stars I am no longer in the banking industry (I left in the mid-nineties), and that Tim's job is in the public sector and is unlikely to be cut – for now.
But it does look like many of my lovely friends will be leaving Tokyo soon and this makes me sad.
The first of my friends to go was my darling Deb, but I can't quite remember exactly when she left Tokyo as my diary system has disintegrated. She has three kids; a girl in Rhiannon's class and twin sons in kindergarten (not called nursery here!). She only had a very short notice. I still miss her now.
