Why Nearly 100,000 People Evaporate Themselves Every Year in Japan
Nobody gives a pat on the back of a defeated man, saying it’s okay to fail. Here, failure comes with deep shame. Shame, guilt, disappointment, and pain. Very few people can get over it, while others give in and continue to live miserably. Many even say goodbye to the world, failing to bear the unbearable pressure. They just cannot find any ways or reasons to resume their journey of life. But in Japan, there lies a third kind of people who know a way to escape the shame most people fail to overcome. No, they don’t hang themselves from the ceiling or put their heads under a high-speed train. Instead, they just pack their bags and vanish into the thin air, leaving everything behind. Just like that. They go away. And never come back. Every year, Japan witnesses nearly 100,000 of its people vanishing themselves into thin air without any trace. These people are called “johatsu,” meaning “evaporated people.” Interestingly, there are companies in Japan known as “Night Movers” that help people evaporate smoothly. French journalist Léna Mauger explored Japan’s evaporated people in her book “The Vanished: The ‘Evaporated People’ of Japan in Stories and Photographs.” From the book, we know that not all people in Japan disappear for the same reasons. Some disappear because they want to leave everything behind and start a new life with a new identity, while others do so due to financial reasons, mental stress, relationship struggles, domestic violence, demanding work environments, or societal pressure. Take Kazufumi as an example. He disappeared because of a financial blunder. He was a top salesman in a reputed company, living a wonderful life. But one day, a bad investment sealed his fate forever.
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