A Country of Despair

Today, I experienced something that made me truly angry—angrier than I have been in years.

I thought that at my age, I wouldn't be easily shaken emotionally anymore. But that assumption was wrong.

A foreign friend who came to Japan as an engineer and worked hard here has decided to leave the country.

She was incredibly positive, highly skilled, and always worked hard for her teammates back home and for her family. So why did she have to leave Japan?

I can't go into details, but a few months ago, she suffered from psychological pressure at work, developed adjustment disorder, and could no longer continue working.

Once she was finally able to talk about it, she reached out to me. But by then, she had lost all desire to work in Japan. She had become disillusioned with this country and decided to leave.

Due to the political situation in her home country, she can't even return to where her family is waiting. Now she will continue living as a foreigner with a heavy heart, uncertain of where she will go next.

I'm angry at the terrible company that treated her this way, but what angers me even more is my own helplessness. I should have been there to support her, yet I could do nothing. What am I even doing with myself?

I remember when she first came to Japan. We had a meal together with a few others. She talked about how excited she was because Japan had advanced technology, how she was working hard to pass the JLPT N1, how she was taking MIT's online AI course, how she was ready to soar as an engineer. That bright, shining version of her is gone now.

All that remains is her disillusionment with the coldness of this country, as she quietly departs.