Jōhatsu (Japanese: 蒸発, Hepburn: jōhatsu, lit. "evaporation") or jouhatsu refers to the people in Japan who purposely vanish from their established lives without a trace.[1] This phenomenon can be seen all over the world, such as the United States, China, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and Germany.[1][2] However, it is likely more prevalent in Japan, given certain cultural factors.[2][3]
Background
editIt has been theorized that Japan's harsh work culture in combination with the lack of familial and community support has contributed to the prevalence of jōhatsu in Japan.[2] Furthermore, quitting a company is seen as shameful in Japanese culture.[2] Suicide, working to death (karoshi), and becoming jōhatsu are thus potential outcomes.[2] It can also spare the family the high costs that can be associated with suicide (e.g. debts, cleanup fees, and disruption-of-service fees in the context of platform jumpers).[2]
Similar societal pressures have been theorized to contribute to the prevalence of hikikomori and a relatively high suicide rate.[3]
History
editThe term jōhatsu started being used in the 1960s.[1] At that time, it was used in the context of people who decided to escape unhappy marriages rather than endure formal divorce proceedings.[1] The Lost Decade of the 1990s led to a spike in jōhatsu and suicide as many salarymen lost their jobs or accumulated debt.[4]
Prevalence
editIn Japan, the topic of jōhatsu is taboo in regular conversation, like the topic of suicide.[2] It has been estimated that 100,000 Japanese people disappear annually.[2] However, jōhatsu may be underreported in the official numbers.[2] In 2015, Japan's National Police Agency had registered 82,000 missing persons, and 80,000 were found by the end of the year.[2] In comparison, that same year, Britain had 300,000 calls to report a missing person, although it has about half of the population of Japan.[2] Furthermore, a database of missing persons does not exist in Japan.[3]
The Missing Persons Search Support Association of Japan, a non-profit dedicated to support families of the jōhatsu, estimates hundreds of thousands of people go missing each year.[2]
Motivation
editPeople become jōhatsu for a number of reasons, including depression, addiction, sexual impropriety, and desire for isolation.[2] Sometimes, it is used to escape domestic violence, gambling debt, religious cults, stalkers, employers, and difficult family situations.[2][3] The shame of job loss, divorce, and even failing an exam can also motivate people to disappear.[4][5]
In some cases, becoming jōhatsu is a way to just have a fresh start.[2] When they disappear, they can abandon their former residences, jobs, families, names, and even appearances.[2]
Industry
editThe businesses that assist the jōhatsu are called yonige-ya, which means “fly-by-night shops”.[2] These establishments are relatively accessible and have their own websites.[2] One particular yonige-ya could charge between ¥50,000 ($450) and ¥300,000 ($2,600) for its services, which depend on a number of factors.[2] These factors include: the amount of possessions, the distance, if it is a nocturnal move, if children are included, and if the client is evading debt collectors.[2] Sometimes, people disappear on their own without the aid of yonige-ya.[2] There are published guides that can help assist people become jōhatsu.[2]
Detective agencies are sometimes used to find people who have become jōhatsu.[2] Sometimes, people can be found spending time at pachinko parlors and cheap hotel rooms, and other times, they can be found to have died by suicide.[2] San'ya, a skid row in Tokyo that previously housed thousands of day laborers, is reported to be a place of hiding for the jōhatsu.[2] Kamagasaki in Osaka is another neighborhood that it is possible to live without an ID and so is also favored.[4]
These communities are yakuza strongholds, since they have jobs that pay cash.[3][4] Many times, especially in the setting of Japan's strict privacy laws, the jōhatsu are unable to be found.[2][4] Most jōhatsu court cases are civil cases, and personal data is not easily accessed.[4] Police will not interfere unless there is a crime or accident.[1]
Media
editThe 2024 documentary Johatsu by German director Andreas Hartmann and Arata Mori is interviewing people involved in the phenomenon, as well as the related yonige-ya services.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e Lufkin, Bryan (3 September 2020). "The companies that help people vanish". BBC Worklife.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Hincks, Joseph (2 May 2017). "Japan's Missing People: On the Trail of the Johatsu". Time.
- ^ a b c d e Scull, J. C. (16 June 2020). "The Johatsu: The Evaporated People of Japan". Owlcation.
- ^ a b c d e f Simone, Alina (25 April 2017). "Japan's 'evaporated people' have become an obsession for this French couple". The World from PRX.
- ^ Mauger, Léna; Remael, Stéphane; Phalen, Brian (2016). The vanished: the "evaporated people" of Japan in stories and photographs. Skyhorse. ISBN 978-1-5107-0826-6. OCLC 936533868.[page needed]
- ^ "Johatsu – Die sich in Luft auflösen". Bayerischer Rundfunk. 2024-03-07. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
Further reading
edit- König, Carla. "Jouhatsu. The Evaporating People of Japan". The Perspective Magazine. Issuu.
- Zoll, Andrew. "Jouhatsu Part 2. Tracking Down Those Who Do Not Want to Be Found". The Perspective Magazine. Issuu.
- 中森, 弘樹 (27 March 2018). "[論説] 行方不明の概念をどのように位置づけるべきか --近年の行方不明研究の動向とその論点の整理を中心に--" [Positioning the Concept of Missing : Focusing on the Recent Studies on Missing and Their Points of View]. 社会システム研究 (in Japanese). 21: 191–206. doi:10.14989/230660. hdl:2433/230660.
- Wellnitz, Philippe (13 April 2021). "Les disparus du Japon dans la littérature francophone contemporaine À propos des Evaporés de Thomas B. Reverdy et des Eclipses japonaises d'Eric Faye" [The disappeared of Japan in contemporary French-speaking literature About the Evaporés by Thomas B. Reverdy and the Japanese Eclipses by Eric Faye]. Alternative Francophone (in French). 2 (9): 40–55. doi:10.29173/af29428.