<p>When Tom Feiling lived in Tokyo in the early 1990s, Japan was a vision of the future. A place where science fiction existed next to centuries old Shinto shrines.</p><p>He returned to the country nearly twenty-five years later to find some of the shine had worn off.</p><p>Its population is aging and shrinking. Inflation is finally setting in after decades of economic stagnation. People are choosing solitude over companionship. And countryside villages are being abandoned as their last residents die off.</p><p>Japan still looks like the future, but it is a troubling future, and a warning for us all.</p><p>Tom is the author of Alone in Japan: A Journey to the Future.</p><p>We spoke about Japan’s culture of overwork, extreme forms of solitude, sex doll showrooms, and attempts to save village life and big city prosperity.</p><p>Personal Landscapes relies on the support of listeners like you to keep going. Please consider joining my Member's Club on Substack, where you'll find show notes for each episode, book reviews, reading-related videos, and more. </p><p>You’ll be supporting an independent ad-free podcast that publishes carefully curated conversations like this one, backed by decades of reading. Go to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.personallandscapespodcast.com/p/start-here">https://www.personallandscapespodcast.com/p/start-here</a></p><p>Follow my travels — and buy my books — on <a target="_blank" href="https://ryanmurdock.com/">https://ryanmurdock.com/</a></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.personallandscapespodcast.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.personallandscapespodcast.com/subscribe</a>