Graduations never phased Hayato Komiya. The 24-year-old says he was the kind of person who watched others cry from a cool distance, thinking he wouldn¡¯t lose touch with those he cared about.

But that changed when he started college and joined a music club, where he eventually had to bid farewell to upperclassmen he¡¯d befriended in May 2023.?

¡°I felt this overwhelming sadness,¡± Komiya tells The Japan Times over a video call. ¡°From around then, I started writing more about human relationships.¡±