Japan’s Evaporated People

Japan's phenomenon of Johatsu, where individuals willingly vanish to start anew, often arises from various personal crises. Here we explore three cases illustrating diverse motivations behind such disappearances.

Overworked Engineer Hashi: Left After Threat to Sell Apartment

Hashi, an engineer overburdened by a heavy workload and expectations, succumbs to the pressures exerted by his critical father and the threat posed by a public works project to sell his home. With his residence targeted for demolition and harassed by men in suits, he and his wife plan to move in with her parents, but the sequence of events and a sense of personal failure lead Hashi to a drastic decision.

Hashi, Pressured by Father and Threats, Leaves Wife and Vanishes

Stressed and feeling defeated, Hashi works late nights handling the sale of his apartment. However, a final act of desperation finds him leaving a note expressing his guilt to his wife, abandoning his responsibilities, and disappearing into Aokigahara Forest, later giving in to a transient lifestyle. After over two decades, Hashi resurfaces, discovering his wife's subsequent life events, including her remarriage and the death of his parents. Hashi's tale exemplifies the heavy toll demanding expectations and external threats can have on an individual.

Kazu Fumi's Tale: A Broker Losing Millions and Leaving His Past Behind

Kazu Fumi, once a successful broker, faces social alienation after costing his company significantly in a financial blunder.

After a Financial Loss, Kazu Fumi Abandoned His Career to Start a "Night Moving" Service to Help Others Disappear

Overwhelmed with shame and unable to face his former life, Kazu Fumi walks away, assuming a new identity and submerging into a life of anonymity and cash jobs. Despite his family's extensive search, he remains unfound and eventually establishes a "night moving" service, aiding others in Japan who wish to escape their pasts as he did. His life’s turnaround, from financial ruin ...

The "johatsu," or evaporating people, phenomenon in Japan is deeply rooted in societal expectations, workplace pressures, and historical conceptions of honor. The cultural and social factors contributing to this phenomenon reflect Japan’s traditional views and the intense demands of modern life.

Japan's Focus on Conformity and Intolerance For Nonconformity

In Japan, there is a prevalent value that "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down," which fosters a significant pressure to conform. Some argue that Japanese society has little tolerance for stepping out of line and offers limited opportunities for rehabilitation or second chances after failures or missteps.

Japan's Work Culture and "Karoshi" (Death by Overwork)

The national work culture in Japan is notoriously challenging, characterized by long hours and few vacation days, which can fuel feelings of entrapment and a desire for escape. The phenomenon of "karoshi," meaning death by overwork, is officially recognized, with statistics indicating that about 200 people die from overwork-related issues every year, though estimates suggest the number could be as high as 10,000.

Japan's Historical Relationship With Honor, Propriety, and Suicide

Japan’s historical relationship with honor, propriety, and suicide also plays a role. Carter Roy discusses the practice of seppuku, a form of ritual suicide historically performed by samurai rather than facing capture or living with disgrace. This complex and codified ritual, which involved death poetry and ceremonial decapitation by a friend, was consider ...

Japan's unique industry and cultural landscape have facilitated an environment where vanishing, often with the aid of "night mover" services, has come into existence, raising questions about societal norms and infrastructure.

Companies Charging Fees to Facilitate Disappearances

Kazu Fumi's company becomes a yoni-geya, or night mover, which describes a service in Japan that helps individuals vanish. These companies, known as Yonigeya or night movers, range their services from $450 to $2600 or even as high as $20,000, prices that were noted in 2003. They provide in-depth consulting on how to stay hidden, including arranging leases, cell phones, and cars all under different names, setting up dummy phones, and redirecting mail. Additionally, they manage critical paperwork like divorce filings to sever all ties to past lives.

Saita, the CEO of a popular night moving company and a Johatsu herself, operates a business that assists individuals, including victims of domestic violence, in disappearing to start a new life, often by helping them sever ties and establish new identities. Her service is seen as filling a gap left by social services and law enforcement, as she carefully avoids aiding those involved with criminal activities or evading the law.

Japan's Privacy Laws and Decentralized Data Systems

Japan stands out globally due to its stringent privacy laws and decentralized data systems, which together create a conducive environment for voluntary disappearances. If the police suspect a disappearance to be voluntary, there is no obligation for them to investigate further. This stands in contrast to many other cultures where missing persons are painstakingly pursued and searches are highly visible. Japan's need to prove a crime to access personal data, like CCTV footage, ATM transactions, or phone records, makes tracking individuals difficult.

The country's personal information is managed through local municipal offices holding resident registers containing personal information. An individual can disappear by unregistering from one municipality without registering in another, effectively falling off the grid in a population of 125 m ...

The phenomenon of Johatsu, or 'people who evaporate,' in Japan has left many families grappling with the emotional and practical repercussions of the sudden disappearance of loved ones.

Stigma and Support Lacking For Families of the Missing

Johatsu Families Face Stigma and Lack Legal Recourse or Investigative Support

Families of the Johatsu often face significant stigma from society, being treated as if they are to blame for their family member's choice to disappear. The lack of legal recourse or investigative support only adds to this burden. The police typically categorize these disappearances as voluntary, leading to minimal official investigation. This stigma can lead to families feeling disempowered, especially under Japan's strict privacy laws, and limits their options for resolving issues like debts or childcare, as their legal rights remain unchanged despite the absence of the missing person.

Emotional and Practical Difficulties for Those Left Behind

Loved Ones Face Heartbreak, Confusion, Debt, Childcare, and Responsibility Issues After Sudden Disappearance

When a person decides to become a Johatsu, they often leave behind a trail of emotional and practical problems for their families. Loved ones are left to deal with not only heartbreak and confusion but also immediate concerns such as childcare, dealing with creditors, and angry landlords. The emotional toll is compounded by the responsibility to "clean up" after the person who has vanished, which can be immense, and this burden can include cases where the person disappeared while running from loan sharks.

The Limited Options For Finding Missing Johatsu

Japan's Privacy Laws and Voluntary Disa ...