I hate Rilakkuma

I'm not usually a hater. And I admit I have a soft spot for cute and cuddly illustrations, but I can't harbor this disgust for the now popular Rilakkuma (relax bear) character here in Japan. Basically, he is the God of Sloth, and the laziest character to permeate TV, print, and merchandise. On one hand I can understand the appeal of such a carefree character from a society that works itself to death, sometimes literally. Although karoshi is not as big of a problem these days compared to the business boom a couple decades ago, many, or most, Japanese workers are expected to put in ridiculous amounts of time with personal health and happiness taking a back seat. Rilakkuma seems to embody the very thing the Japanese work against (laziness) and envy the most (free time). As I was informed by a colleague, "Japanese is nervous culture. Everybody is nervous. But knowing everybody is nervous, helps us [manage]." In turn, everyone is working their ass off, and so taking time off could cause tension. "I work hard because everyone works hard" is the moto. Fair enough, and Japan's relative affluence and impressive progress since WWII shows the results. But is ultimate laziness or idle time what we are all really working so hard to achieve? I try to imagine if I instantly had a billion dollars and no longer had to work. What would life be like? My main concern with Rilakkuma is that he represents the complete lack of motivation for anything but sleeping or laying around. It personally strikes a chord when I try to engage with some of my students here. Even a simple fill in the blank sheet about "what do you like?" can be like pulling teeth. "Really? You don't like any food. Not even cake, hamburgers, sushi or anything? Uh, ok, just make up something then."
I feel despair knowing how many people love that little bear. How can you love something with no vision, no dreams, no ambition? I'm not saying everyone needs to be president or a rocket scientist, but just to have some passion, some small activity or even hobby that can be nurtured and mature over time to develop into a rich aspect that gives originality and depth to a person's life. And now more than ever with technology those of us with means have the access to just about any information at our fingertips. There should be no excuse for boredom. Life is wonderful and interesting and it would be a great waste to sleep the whole ride home.