TOKYO -- At 7:50 a.m. on a recent morning, Marianne Culaniban, a housekeeper from the Philippines, leaves the house she shares with around 20 fellow Filipinos on the northern edge of greater Tokyo.
A packed commuter takes her to the center of town. "Manila's commuter trains are crowded, but they're nothing compared to trains here," Culaniban says. She is used to rush hour now, having worked in Tokyo for the better part of a year. She walks 15 minutes from the station to a high-rise apartment, where she is greeted by her client for the day.
