What is Johatsu? The dark Japanese secret where thousands vanish every year without a trace

Every year in Japan, tens of thousands of people vanish without a trace. They leave behind families, careers, debts and in many cases, their entire identities.

Known as Johatsu, or "the evaporated," these individuals choose to disappear from society, driven by overwhelming pressures, personal failures or a desperate need for a new beginning.

Unlike typical missing persons’ cases, Johatsu is not always the result of crime or accident. Instead, it’s often a conscious, calculated decision to walk away from a life that has become unbearable.

A cultural phenomenon rooted in shame

The term Johatsu, meaning "evaporation," emerged in post-war Japan to describe people who disappeared during times of economic hardship. Today, the term has evolved to represent a broader social phenomenon: men and women who erase themselves from society in response to financial ruin, family breakdown, academic failure, or mental health struggles.

In a collectivist society like Japan’s, where personal failure is often seen as shameful not only for the individual but for their family, the pressure to maintain social appearances can be overwhelming. As a result, some choose silence over confrontation, disappearance over disgrace.

Common motivations for becoming Johatsu include:

Job loss, bankruptcy, or overwhelming debt

Divorce, domestic abuse, or family estrangement

Academic failure, especially among students facing entrance exam pressure

Mental illness and lack of accessible support

Escaping threats from organized crime or debt collectors

How do people disappear in a surveillance society?

Japan is known for its high-tech surveillance, national ID systems, and meticulous record-keeping. So how do thousands of people simply vanish each year?

The answer lies in discreet services known as yonige-ya or "night moving companies." These businesses specialise in helping clients leave their current lives without a trace, often in the dead of night. They transport people and belongings quietly, without asking questions. While their work exists in a legal gray area, it is not technically illegal.

According to a 2017 TIME report, yonige-ya services typically cost between ¥50,000 and ¥300,000 ($400–$2,500), depending on the complexity of the disappearance.

Many of those who vanish end up in marginalised urban zones such as Sanya in Tokyo or Kamagasaki in Osaka areas known for loose ID checks and under-the-table day labour jobs.

Toll on families left behind

For the loved ones left behind, the disappearance often brings years of confusion, grief, and financial strain. Without legal closure, families are unable to declare a person dead or resolve estate matters, all while dealing with the emotional weight of unanswered questions.

In many cases, families choose not to report missing relatives, fearing social shame or community ostracisation, a phenomenon known in Japan as murahachibu or village expulsion. This deep-rooted fear of public shame discourages both disappearance reporting and active searches.

For many, becoming Johatsu is less an act of rebellion and more a quiet protest, a last resort in a society perceived to offer little forgiveness or second chances. Some resurface years later, only to find their absence absorbed into family silence. Others remain anonymous for the rest of their lives.

Photographers and journalists, including Leo Rubinfien (Wounded Cities) and Léna Mauger & Stéphane Remael (The Vanished), have explored the scale of the phenomenon. Their estimates suggest that as many as 100,000 people each year attempt some form of voluntary disappearance in Japan.

While Johatsu is deeply tied to Japan’s cultural values and social structures, it taps into a more universal human theme, the desire to escape, to start over and to find dignity in disappearance.