カラオケ

カラオケ=Ka-ra-ok-e, and it, being a Japanese invention, is bigger here than anywhere else in the world. It is SO big in my city in fact, that a curfew was placed on the kids:

Wed Feb 1, 5:45 AM ET
Late nights of warbling in karaoke bars are a thing of the past for teenagers in western Japan. Osaka prefecture Wednesday imposed a ban on youths under 16 going alone to any establishment with a karaoke machine after 7:00 pm in an effort to promote "sound nightlife for young people."

The region, which has Japan's most most bountiful entertainment after Tokyo, will fine karaoke operators 300,000 yen (2,560 dollars) if they violate the regulation.
"We had relied on operators' self-regulation but we decided to impose the ordinance in line with a change in times," said prefectural official Chiyuki Yamada. There is no punishment for teenagers if they stay out singing, Yamada said, adding that prefectural officials were visiting karaoke operators to inform them of the new rule. Teenagers aged under 16 are still allowed to sing their hearts out until 10 pm if they are with a parent. Other Japanese prefectures have imposed similar curfews but Osaka's is the toughest of its kind in Japan, Kyodo News said.

Karaoke, which means "empty orchestra," started with music-only tapes and a microphone sing-along machine produced by a record store owner in the 1960s. The concept was quickly taken up by bar owners and spread nationwide and abroad, becoming a 7.5 billion-dollar a year industry in Japan alone. Nowadays, many Japanese enjoy karaoke at so-called karaoke boxes where small groups of friends eat, drink and sing in soundproof private rooms.

More soon...
Ta ta
Erich