#276: Gone. Into Thin Air.

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Every year in Japan, over 80,000 people are reported missing and many believe that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Beyond the statistics lies intricate systems that let people up and disappear, without a trace, by choice.

This means everyone in Japan likely knows someone who has disappeared and you can imagine how this phenomenon imprints itself on Japanese culture.

The effects are so significant that there are cottage industries focused on nearly every logistical element involved in disappearing. This means there are playbooks that spell out how to evaporate and live a new, anonymous life.

This phenomenon is known as “jouhatsu” – to evaporate.

Jake Adelstein has made a life exploring the seedy underworlds of Japan. You may already know him for his 2009 memoir Tokyo Vice which inspired an HBO series that may also be in your orbit. The most important thing here is that Adelstein managed to integrate with Japanese culture and society in ways rarely seen by Westerners.

Japanese-American journalist Shoko Plambeck – an equally-reputable and experienced voice in this story – joins Adelstein to probe into how and why people willingly vanish, and what they might be doing once they’re gone.

Through the experience of Jake Adelstein's missing accountant, The Evaporated: Gone with the Gods explores the sudden vanishing of families across Japan. In nine episodes, we wrap our minds around the concept of "night movers” who help people vanish, how they play into the infrastructure that exists for those looking to evaporate into thin air, and what the motives of the missing might actually be.

Have a listen and share what you think.

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