Japanese people and the cat(1) Is there anyone who likes cats as much as the Japanese? Probably not. There are many special things in Japan, such as : (1) Manekineko, a cat that calls for blessings in each store, welcomes customers. (2) Dedicated apartment for cat owners are popular. (3) There is a shrine that serves cats as gods. (4) Cable television broadcasts only cats all day long. Cats appear as regular main characters in novels, movies, and animations in Japan, such as "I am a cat," "Rent-a-Cat,” and "The Cat's Repayment." Hello Kitty and Doraemon are famous cat characters not only in Japan but also in foreign countries. There is also the word "Nekonomics" in Japan. It's a newly coined word combining the Japanese word ‘neko,’ which means cat, and the English ‘eco-nomics.’ It refers to the economic effect created by the culture of pet cats. According to a report by Yomiuri Shimbun, the amount was about 2 trillion yen last year. However, cats were not popular in Japan from the beginning. According to a 1983 poll, 59 percent of Japanese people hated cats. Like in the other countries, dogs were definitely the number one pet in Japan rather than cats. That was the first time the results were overturned in a 2017 survey. In a survey of 50,000 people who breed pets, the number of people breeding cats (9.53 million) exceeds the number of people breeding dogs (8.92 million). What happened during this period?