Japan’s Ghost Taxi Problem.
Categorisation: Jibakurei
Origin: Ishinomaki (2012)
It’s a quiet, dry evening in 2012. The chill of September bites at the tip of your nose. The indigo sky lulls you into a tiredness that you’re familiar with. Everything is the same as usual, when a passenger enters the cab. You tap your thumb on the rubber of the steering wheel, thinking about what to cook for dinner when you ask “Where to?”. The passenger rubs their sobbing hands together and mumbles an address. Only… there’s something strange. It’s not raining, yet in the rear-view mirror, you see a young woman absolutely drenched and shivering. Did she fall in a pond? It’s not your business. No matter how interested, the engine rears to life; it’s time to go. The ride is quite a longways out. A boulevard that used to be lined with oak trees is now home to overturned vehicles, rubble and glass. Random planks of wood lay scattered between the alleys. Many teens on bikes rush past the cab to their neighbourhoods. “Got any plans tonight?” You fill the silence with something, just anything to get rid of the pit at the bottom of your stomach.
“I’m going h-home… to see.. my parents.” she stutters out. The rear-view mirror catches your eye once more. In the mirror sits an exhausted, freezing young woman. Something bad has most likely happened. Should you call the police? No, it’s none of your business. Streets upon streets pass you by as you consider what days you can take off work. You suppose that next Friday should be alright. You better clear the schedule, you think to yourself. The car pulls around the corner, up to a quaint block of flats, lined with balconies. The cold seeps down to your fingertips. You wipe your mouth against a cotton sleeve and look back to the mirror one final time. The backseats of the vehicle sit empty, only a puddle residing on the leftmost side. Behind your shoulder is a whisper of regret, but nothing more. The woman is gone. It’s almost as though she was never there to begin with. Where did you pick her up from again? Oh, that’s right… Tohoku. On instinct, you fumble around for your wallet. With shaking hands and jagged breath, you pay the fare. It’s the least you can do for her. Truthfully, you had a suspicion all along. There was something about those sunken eyes, wasn’t there?
[The origins of the problem]
Does this story sound familiar? It might. Japan is no stranger to natural disasters, namely earthquakes and tsunamis. One such incident took place in 2011, often referred to as the ‘Great East Japan Earthquake’ or 3.11. On the 11th of March 2011, an undersea megathrust earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean, sending an all-powerful tsunami for the Tohoku region. Miyako, Iwate and Tohoku were the areas mainly affected. As if that wasn’t enough, the tsunami then instigated the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The magnitude 9 earthquake lasted 6 minutes, though it probably felt like a lifetime for some. 19,759 people had passed away in its wake, and plenty more have been injured or reported missing. Needless to say, this tragedy changed Japan forever.
In the coming years after the tragedy, supernatural phenomena had been reported around the areas affected, most often being the coastal city of Ishinomaki. Taxi drivers often found themselves picking up soaked, freezing passengers - many of whom were said to be visiting loves ones. A staple of these passengers was that they’d always vanish before arriving at their destination. They’d leave traces of themselves in the form of puddles, or left possessions such as gloves or taxi fares. The drivers believed that these passengers were victims of 3.11. One could argue that the taxi drivers were conspiring to create a sensational story for recognition and prestige; in an age tainted by social media, the assumption isn’t so unreasonable… however, the meters on the taxi drivers’ vehicles speak for themselves. The taximeters information is documented for every trip. It’s not a perfect alibi but it comes close.
[The cultural consequences of the problem]
Etiquette around ghost passengers is where things get interesting. A strange sort of culture has cultivated amongst taxi drivers, a list of ‘do’s and don’t’s’ of you will. The first thing you should do is drive all the way to the destination, even if the passenger has vanished - and the second thing you should do is pay their fare if they haven’t already taken care of it. It’s a popular belief amongst taxi drivers that completing their journey will help the ghost pass to the other side. The psychological implications of this is pretty bizarre, albeit unfortunate. This belief likely stems from the guilt of the drivers, despite the fact that they were not responsible for the tragedy. Psychiatrist Keizo Hara believes that such a wide-scaled event has caused grief-hallucinations or collective post-traumatic stress disorder. Keizo Hara MD has had incredible involvement in studying the effects of 3.11 and has worked with many survivors on their rehabilitation.
[What kind of ghosts are they?]
It was only when people began posting their testimonies to 2chan (short for 2channel) that ‘ghost passengers’ became an urban legend with notoriety. Stories from disturbed drivers had made their way to the news and online communities, as well as spaces in western media. Once the legend became known worldwide, those in the west had noticed strange similarities to another such urban legend; the vanishing hitchhiker. The story is very much the same. Some folks pick up a hitchhiker that accompanies them in a moving vehicle, only to vanish at some point throughout their journey. This legend can be dated as far back as the 1870’s, possibly even further if you consider the 400-year-old manuscript by Swedish author John Petri Klint, a priest who concerned himself with omens and the supernatural.
The ghost passengers don’t seem to be malevolent, according to the testimonies of the taxi drivers. Instead, they are described as lost souls, some of whom aren’t even aware of their tragic passing. This type of ghost could most likely be described as an earth-bound spirit, or a ‘Jibakurei’ in the terms of Japanese mythology. Earth-bound spirits are left to wander without meaning and are tied to specific places or situations. There doesn’t seem to be a better classification than this. Earth-bound ghosts have a persistent presence in horror media all over the world, as they make for fantastic narrative tools. It’s easy to see why a group of traumatised individuals would use them to make sense of an unbelievable tragedy.
[My two cents…]
Personally, I think that Dr. Keizo Hara is right on the money. Brains are insanely powerful, even to their own detriment. I believe that these ghosts are unfortunate hallucinations created by a traumatised community. There’s something to be said about this phenomenon being taxi-oriented, as they provide a service so intensely connected to the people of their community. My uneducated deduction is that the hallucinations are a branch of something called mass hysteria, since these ghosts seem to have stayed within a tight-knit group of people, and only this group of service workers are experiencing this supernatural event.
Mass hysteria has been prevalent throughout history, some of the most infamous cases being: the Salem witch trials, the laughter epidemic of Tanzania (previously known as Tanganyika) 1962, and the dancing plague of 1518. While the term mass hysteria is generally used when talking about physical ailments in the modern day, there are plenty of cases that only showcase psychological symptoms.
I believe that covers the most important details. What do you think? Will we ever get a true answer as to what’s happening in the haunted streets of Ishinomaki? In any case, I hope the drivers and victims of 3.11 are able to find peace.
