Ceiling beams have fallen, doors open on their own, the floors bounce and creak. The foundation is weak, and the floor is so sloped that rice cooks unevenly because the water is deeper on one side of the pot. A neighbor with similar problems ties a rope around her waist when she steps onto a second-floor balcony to hang up her laundry because the balcony is so poorly built it could collapse. The case of the defective houses, still in litigation, prompted Japan's national government to pass a law guaranteeing new housing construction for 10 years. Citizens like Itoga are often pressured to stay silent.
Public squabbles disrupt the wa.
They had been watching TV late at night when their 14-inch Sharp console conked out. Later, smoke had engulfed the house. The elder Kajis escaped by jumping from their second-story balcony, all the while assuming their daughter had made it out safely as well. But firefighters found her dead next to a telephone. But nobody believed us.