The country where 100,000 people a year "evaporate"
Leave, and never look back? Although this is something not many people do in our countries, in one nation it has become something of a social phenomenon.
In Japan, they are called "johatsu", which means "evaporated" in English. These are people that decide to disappear voluntarily to start their lives again, somewhere else, differently. In all, they now total about 100,000 “evaporees” per year.
The phenomenon started in the 1990s at a time when Japan was facing major economic problems. It can be explained by too much social pressure, reports the media Demotivateur. Divorce, romances that collapse, debt, job loss; all these situations lead to such shame that it pushes those who are confronted with them to disappear. Like suicide, voluntary disappearance is taboo in Japanese society where if you run away, you don't do society any credit. The shame grows, impacting the entire family, and is never silent.
The craziest thing? Companies specialising in disappearances have even emerged, organising "night moves", a cover to help people evaporate discreetly. For this service, they ask about EUR3,200 (USD3,500), according to the New York Post.
(AsD/ML - Source : Demotivateur - Illustration : Unsplash)