'Road sleeping' epidemic hits Okinawa as warm weather meets heavy drinking
by Justin McCurry in Tokyo from on (#572CZ)
Police in southern Japan reported more than 7,000 cases of rojo-ne' last year
Japan is largely tolerant of salarymen snoozing on trains after an evening out, but authorities on the southern island of Okinawa are taking a dim view of a worrying new trend in alcohol-fuelled somnolence.
Local police reported more than 7,000 cases of rojo-ne - literally sleeping on the road - last year, a phenomenon some attribute to Okinawa's balmy weather and enthusiastic consumption of a fiery spirit that has been made on the island for hundreds of years.
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