The Sexy Salaryman

The white collar worker has become a central figure in TV series and comic books in Japan. Ruth Alexander travels to Tokyo to explore the rise of the middle manager as cult hero, speaking to best-seller novelists, manga artists and TV directors about why the workplace makes such good drama.

She finds out what the fictional exploits of the 'salaryman’ tell us about doing business in Japan, and hears about the emergence of a new character getting attention in popular culture - the salarywoman.

(Photo: Japanese businessmen. Credit: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)