"He quit after saving 1.4 billion won"... 40-something breadwinner abandons FIRE life after a year and starts job hunting

[The Financial News] A story from Japan about a man in his 40s who declared retirement after saving about 1.4 billion won in financial assets, only to find himself preparing to re-enter the workforce a year later, is drawing attention.

On the 11th (local time), the online edition of Japanese financial magazine The Gold, The Gold Online, featured the story of a 45-year-old man identified only as A, who holds about 150 million Japanese yen (JPY), or roughly 1.4 billion won, in financial assets.
A, who lives with his wife and two elementary school-aged children, is part of the so-called FIRE movement — people who seek financial independence and aim to retire early.
Over more than 10 years, he built up his assets by investing in stocks and investment trusts. Believing that his investment returns alone would be enough to cover living expenses, he quit his job and declared early retirement.
A said, "I never really liked being a company employee. I hated the packed rush-hour subway and a life tied to the office from morning until night."
He went on, "(After early retirement) at first I really felt a sense of liberation. Walking around on weekday afternoons or having a coffee, I thought, 'So this is freedom.' But that kind of life was not as easy as it seemed."

Whenever he went out in a T-shirt to do the grocery shopping on a weekday afternoon, neighbors would look at him with concern.
His child asked him, "Why don't you go to the office?" A said he dodged the question by replying, "I run my own business."
Feeling increasingly conscious of how others saw him, A told his wife he would take a part-time job at a café near their home. However, his wife stopped him, reportedly saying, "You might run into other parents from the school around here, so go somewhere farther away."
A reflected, "The FIRE lifestyle may not fit well with the Japanese mindset. If I were alone, I wouldn't care what others think, but it's different when you have a family."
He added, "Living as a 'breadwinner who doesn't work' gave my family a sense of indebtedness that was hard even to explain."

In the end, less than a year after declaring FIRE — early retirement — A is now preparing to look for a job again.
He said, "The title of 'company employee' was the most convenient status for blocking other people's unnecessary curiosity. That said, because I do have assets, I plan to look for a job that will let me maintain some breathing room in life, instead of being consumed by making a living like before."
The outlet commented, "In Japan, the belief that 'if you're an adult, you should go to the office' is still deeply rooted," and assessed, "As long as you live in Japan, even if you have enough assets to get by, you will be pressured to fulfill a social role."
newssu@fnnews.com Reporter Kim Soo-yeon Reporter