Corpse Disposal and Anime Girls: Japan’s Market Responses to Aging and Loneliness

By examining two unique services in Japan I will highlight the unexpected social and economic impacts of a long-lived population and the new struggles it produces. These come in the form of a booming corpse disposal and home renovation industry for the bodies of the elderly who die unnoticed and a virtual smart home assistant to play the role of someone waiting at home for you. Just what has brought people to be so lonely to be able to fade away en masse unnoticed and pursue alternative forms of social connection? Despite world-shaping advancements in communications technology allowing anyone to Continue reading Corpse Disposal and Anime Girls: Japan’s Market Responses to Aging and Loneliness