Cartoons Keep Order at Japanese Construction Sites

The construction site outside the train station in one of Tokyo’s central night life and shopping districts had the typical workers in hard hats and fluorescent vests. And, not so typical, two pink-and-white Hello Kitty figures hanging off the barriers that keep pedestrians from stumbling into a hole in the road. Such figures, along with more than 30 varieties including elephants, giraffes, deer and dolphins, crop up on road barriers all over Japan, an effort to entertain passers-by who might otherwise regard construction sites as nuisances. Read more