Nautilus

Alienation Is Killing Americans and Japanese

Almost a quarter of Japanese men and a tenth of Japanese women over age 60 say there is not a single person they could rely on in difficult times. The American crisis may not be so dissimilar from the Japanese one.Photograph by Trung Kaching / Flickr.

he stories have become all too familiar in Japan, though people often do their best to ignore them. An elderly or middle-aged person, usually a man, is found dead, at home in his apartment, frequently right in his bed. It has been days, weeks, or even months since he has had contact with another human being. Often the discovery is made by a landlord frustrated at not receiving a rent payment or a magazine. “It’s the person who, when they take something out, they don’t put it back; when something breaks, they don’t fix it; when a relationship falls apart, they don’t repair it.”

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Nautilus

Nautilus2 min read
The Rebel Issue
Greetings, Nautilus readers, and welcome to The Rebel Issue. Starting today through the end of April we’re going to bring you stories that revolve around the meaning of rebel. In our own happy rebellion against the conventions of science writing, we’
Nautilus10 min read
The End of Species
When he can spare the time, Jan Mees is an exorcist of scientific ghosts. A marine biologist, Mees’s full-time job is directing the Flanders Marine Institute in Ostend, Belgium, but his side project is serving as co-leader of an international group o
Nautilus9 min read
The Marine Biologist Who Dove Right In
It’s 1969, in the middle of the Gulf of California. Above is a blazing hot sky; below, the blue sea stretches for miles in all directions, interrupted only by the presence of an oceanographic research ship. Aboard it a man walks to the railing, studi

Related Books & Audiobooks