Ghosts are definitely scary, but these days a new fear plagues young, social media-savvy couples: being ghosted.
The act of ¡°ghosting¡± is when one person in a relationship, whether it¡¯s romantic or platonic, breaks off contact with the other. No explanation, no closure, the other person becomes, well, a ghost.
The concept existed in Japan before computers and telephones, of course. In the past, Òôɳ̤¬¤Ê¤¯¤Ê¤ë (otosata ga nakunaru, to stop hearing from someone) wasn¡¯t uncommon, and when you did finally receive a ÊÖ¼ˆ (tegami, letter) it might start with the phrase ¤´Ÿoɳ̤·¤Æ¤¤¤Þ¤¹ (go-busata shite-imasu, it has been a while). In those days, though, you could probably make excuses for someone¡¯s silence.
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