Recently, I met a group of new people. One girl stood out to me. She’s quiet and simple, and it feels like she could do anything she wanted. From the outside, she looks carefree, gifted, well-connected, and loved. Her days are filled with activity.
But after getting to know her better, I realized something else. Her actions don’t last long. She seems to be driven more by her environment and other people’s expectations than by her own decisions. She’s not that young anymore, yet she doesn’t have much savings. In truth, she’s still struggling.
In Japan, many young people are in the same situation—living paycheck to paycheck. They survive on day-to-day or month-to-month income. Because of this, they may end up working their entire lives without rest, or depending too heavily on their partners. Often, they buy cheaper food and goods just to get by.
What troubles me is that many don’t even realize how their lifestyle is hurting them—or how it might also affect the next generation.
Poverty doesn’t stay in one place; it spreads. Communities gradually get shaped by big companies and supermarkets. Capitalism, in this form, dulls people’s hearts and minds. It suppresses creativity, independent thought, and the courage to make change.
The result is growing depression, a loss of identity, and a quiet emptiness that I already see happening in Japan.
It feels like many people are being pushed into corners, locked into small boxes. They keep moving forward… but it doesn’t feel like truly living.