Theater of Cruelty

I had this nice long post prepared, about how Japanese entertainment is essentially based on the idea that entertainers aren't really people--that they are slaves to their producers and are forced to do pretty much anything the TV stations want (Look up Nasubi sometime...).
I had points and different examples and reflections on what my wife calls the "celebrity tax".

I don't need it anymore.


Because I saw this:

Those are 1 and 2 year old children, racing with backpacks loaded with 2 kilos (4.4 pounds) of mochi.
People think this is funny, and they think it is cute...

I reckon they're just getting the kids ready to be a geinojin.

What a country...
**Update** Here's another link, that says pretty much everything I wanted to say.