In this episode, I explore how desire is treated in Japanese society. Desire itself is not forbidden, but showing it openly is. People are expected to hide their personal wants behind harmless stories such as “self-growth,” “learning,” or “contributing to society.” As a result, only “odorless” and safe desires are allowed to appear in public. I discuss how this creates a culture where people who seem to have no desire are valued, even though real desire never disappears. It is simply pushed underground and disguised. This episode asks whether a society that avoids speaking honestly about desire can truly preserve a sense of life and authenticity.

In this episode, I examine what “being good at work” really means in a world where most labor cannot be measured by numbers. Office work is judged through vague impressions rather than clear results, yet these evaluations still shape careers. I argue that today’s problem is not inaccurate evaluation, but the fact that people can no longer wait for it. In an unstable economy, self-promotion and performance become survival strategies. As a result, acting competent often matters more than being competent. This is not a moral failure of individuals, but a structural change in how modern white-collar society rewards visibility, speed, and self-branding over patience and substance.

In this episode, I examine why modern “celebrity business owners” and flow-based entrepreneurs no longer provoke class anger, but are instead consumed as entertainment. By comparing flow businesses that survive on constant energy and hype with stock businesses built on trust and accumulation, I explore how inequality is transformed into a story rather than a conflict. Luxury, power, and hierarchy become fantasy, not something to question. When class difference is turned into drama, anger fades and hope replaces it. This episode argues that entertainment quietly neutralizes social tension, not through force or ideology, but by converting structural inequality into something we admire, enjoy, and even dream of joining someday.

In this episode, I question the way self-help culture assumes that life must always have meaning. Many motivational messages begin with the promise that your struggles are meaningful and your life is destined for purpose. While this sounds kind, it can quietly become dangerous. It excludes those who cannot find meaning in their experiences and turns uncertainty into failure. I argue that meaning is not guaranteed, and that honest thinking must start from that uncertainty. When “meaning” is treated as a product that can be sold, people begin to outsource their own lives. This episode explores why such comforting stories deserve careful skepticism.

In this episode, I examine a paradox of modern society: as more people succeed through personal responsibility, those who cannot survive by that logic gradually lose their voice. Self-reliance, effort, and competition are not wrong, and they have created many capable and independent individuals. However, when a society is designed only around self-responsibility, structural problems are translated into personal failure. People facing health issues, family burdens, mental strain, or simple bad timing become invisible. What appears efficient on the surface slowly accumulates distortion beneath it. This episode argues that a sustainable society needs both freedom to compete and systems that protect dignity when competition fails.

In this episode, I explore why capybaras have become unexpected icons of comfort in modern society. Their popularity is not simply about cuteness, but about what they represent. Unlike traditional “healing” figures or mascots that carry roles, messages, or expectations, capybaras do nothing and ask for nothing. They offer no lessons, no encouragement, and no meaning. In a world that constantly demands opinions, productivity, and purpose, this complete lack of obligation feels deeply reassuring. This episode examines capybaras as a symbol of a society exhausted by meaning—and explains why “doing nothing” has quietly become a form of value today.

In this episode, I reflect on Japan’s growing emphasis on tourism as a national strategy and ask what it reveals about the country’s current direction. Tourism is often presented as a hopeful engine for economic revival, yet it is typically a labor-intensive, low-productivity sector that struggles to support long-term stability. By looking at issues such as demographic decline, aging society, and limited wage growth, this episode questions whether tourism can truly address Japan’s deeper structural challenges. Rather than offering easy answers, the discussion explores why tourism has become an appealing option—and what may be overlooked when it is treated as a central solution.

In this episode, I explore why living freely has become increasingly difficult in modern society. Although we often hear that values are more diverse and people are free to choose their own paths, the reality may be the opposite. By comparing postwar Japan with the present, I argue that earlier eras were restrictive but gave real weight to personal choices. Today, countless lifestyle “templates” circulate through social media, making deviation feel easy but shallow. What appears to be freedom often means borrowing pre-made stories. True freedom, I suggest, requires refusing borrowed narratives and fully accepting one’s own position and responsibility.