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Remember that scene in Maid in Akihabara where Mako Sakurai’s character lives in a cubicle in an Internet/manga cafe? Well she isn’t the only one, by far. While the fact that some otaku live in these cubicles isn’t new, a new study by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare has just revealed the true magnitude of this phenomenon.

After surveying 3,200 manga cafes the ministry found out that 5,400 people call these places home, having no other place to live. These people sleep, eat, shower (somewhat regularly I suppose), browse the internet, play games, read manga, watch anime and sometimes, just sometimes even work from these places. Is this a symptom of the rising costs of housing in Japan? The realization of the otaku that they really don’t need much else in the way or worldly possessions?

[ANN]