Japan witnessing phenomenon of 'evaporated' people. What is it?

In Japan, a weird practice is gaining ground - people choosing to voluntarily disappear. This phenomenon is known as johatsu, or “evaporated people". These are people who vanish from public life by choice and leave no traces behind. French journalist Léna Mauger investigated the practice and stated in her book that nearly one hundred thousand Japanese people vanish every year.

Reports suggest that many more people are likely going for Johatsu and the figures are underreported. It is not an openly acceptable topic to talk about in Japan. While people vanishing is not restricted to Japan, the phenomenon isfar more prevalent here.

Why do people choose to "evaporate"?

There are several reasons why people choose johatsu in Japan. Mauger says it is the best way for some people to fight depression, addiction, sexual impropriety, and other such matters. “It’s something you can’t really talk about, but people can disappear because there’s another society underneath Japan’s society,” she said in an interview, reported by TIME.

She tells the story of a man named Norihiro in her book. After he was fired from his job, he continued to get dressed and leave home. He spent his days in his car. But soon with no salary coming in, he chose to give up his current life and vanished into a quaint place where only the "nameless" venture.

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Removing themselves from society cuts them off from their problems. A documentary film titled Johatsu - Into Thin Air is set to release this year. It dabbles with theissue and talks about why people move away from their lives. The trailer shows people who have been away from their families for years and have built a new life. It also tells of "Night Movers", those who help such people evaporate from society.

Johatsu companies

The trailer of the film shows one woman recall how she vanished. She says while searching on the phone about "how to escape mafia", she came across a service of Night Movers who said they can give her a "place where she can live and work at the same time".

Another man talks about how his father's company went bankrupt after he took over. He blamed himself for bringing shame to the family and so "evaporated". Night Movers secretly move their clients' belongings to a safer place. These people move to areas where no one cares about who they are.

These services chargedepending on various factors. It can cost anywhere between ¥50,000 ($338) and ¥300,000 ($2,030). People escaping debt collectors likely pay up more. It also depends on the amount of possessions, whether other family members also want to go with them, etc.

People who go johatsu are rarely found because of Japan's strict privacy laws.