A hand-written message in the Tokyo restaurant advises couples could also cause staff 'severe emotional trauma'.
A restaurant in Tokyo has said it will refuse to serve couples on Christmas Eve because their happiness would remind single patrons of their loneliness.
The owner of PiaPia, a pasta restaurant in the Hachioji suburb of west Tokyo, has placed a handwritten sign in the window of the restaurant that reads: "We will be refusing entry to all couples on Dec 24, with no exceptions!"
The sign features an outline of a male figure in blue and a female figure in red and a heart with a large red cross through the image. The message states that, as well as upsetting single patrons, romantic couples on Christmas Eve "would cause severe emotional trauma to members of our staff".
店長くっそわらったwww
pic.twitter.com/NZOmNWIWAk — まりか☻ (@nmura_mka)
December 5, 2014
Takashi Kyozuka, an employee of PiaPia, said that the sign was put in the window because single customers would "feel sad that they are by themselves".
"If you are single on Christmas Eve, then it's easy to get down."
Japan is experiencing a generation crisis, with people getting married later in life and having fewer children.
- Telegraph, UK
