Alone in Japan

出自享譽盛名的作家與記者之手，一幅當代日本關於愛、性與孤獨生動且廣泛的寫照。

無性、無子、無未來？

1990 年代初期，當湯姆．費林還是學生並移居東京時，日本是未來的燈塔：一個崛起的超級強權、科技巨頭，以及繁榮、文明與成功的全球象徵。當他 24 年後再次回到這裡，這個國家依然預示著未來——但他開始意識到，日本不再是燈塔，而是一個警示。

這本書提供了當代日本生活的獨特畫像，從偏遠村莊的寧靜到特大城市的活力。它講述了自 70 年代中期以來，日本社會如何不知不覺地開啟了一場巨大的、沉默的轉型過程，而這場變革至今仍在演演進。這個國家依然和平、依然繁榮，但人口正在萎縮。照目前的趨勢看來，人口數量將隨著每一代人的更迭而減少三分之一。

費林走訪了神社、酒吧、稻田、芒果農場、咖啡館與養老院，遇見了那些受此轉型影響、甚至推動這場變革的人們。透過無數次的訪談與廣泛研究，他編織出一個強而有力的論述，解釋為什麼男性與女性不再配對、不再生育。他揭示了性欲與性行為如何被演進中的經濟所形塑、又如何反過來重塑經濟，並思考了日本及其他地區「獨居生活」興起的風險與機遇。

目光清澈且令人驚訝，《日本孤獨》（Alone in Japan）是一幅關於當代日本愛、性與死亡的寫照，值得我們所有人關注與反思。這是一位當代最具原創性的記者對一個處於邊緣國家的震撼記錄。

From the acclaimed writer and journalist, a vivid and wide-ranging portrait of love, sex and loneliness in contemporary Japan

No sex. No kids. No future?

When Tom Feiling moved to Tokyo as a student in the early nineties, Japan was a beacon of the future: a rising superpower, a technology giant, and a global symbol of prosperity, civility and success. When he returned twenty-four years later, the country was still a sign of things to come – but, he began to realize, it was no longer a beacon. It was a warning.

This book offers a unique portrait of life in contemporary Japan, from the quiet of its furthest flung villages to the dynamism of its megacities. It tells the story of how, from the mid-seventies onwards, Japanese society unknowingly embarked on a vast, silent process of transformation that is still unfolding today. The country is still peaceful; it is still prosperous. But the population is shrinking. As things stand, it will fall by a third with each new generation.

Travelling through shrines and bars, rice fields and mango farms, coffee shops and old peoples’ homes, Feiling meets those affected by, and driving, this transformation. Through countless interviews and extensive research, he weaves together a powerful account of how and why men and women are ceasing to pair off and have kids. He reveals how sexual appetites and behaviours are both shaped by, and reshaping the evolving economy, and considers the risks – and the opportunities – of the rise in solo living in Japan, and beyond.

Clear-sighted and surprising, Alone in Japan is a portrait of love, sex and death in contemporary Japan that should provoke and engage us all. It is an electrifying portrait of a nation on the brink by one of the most original reporters working today.