The Japanese government made a metaverse to combat loneliness and it went horribly wrong 

Japan enacted a law to prevent loneliness and isolation on April 1, 2024. This law obliges local governments in Japan to make efforts towards tackling the societal issue of loneliness. It seems that one of these efforts have taken the shape of a government-funded metaverse called Plat-verse (jp: ぷらっとば～す). However, something about the metaverse’s design obviously went horribly wrong, as it seems almost like it’s meant to promote loneliness rather than battle it.  

Along with the passing of the “Act on the Advancement of Measures to Address Loneliness and Isolation”, May has been proclaimed the month of Countermeasures Against Loneliness and Isolation in Japan. Thus, during May, Japanese users can access Plat-verse, which is described as a virtual space where anyone can casually enter, relax and experience various content. There’s one catch though – you can’t communicate with anyone else in the metaverse by any means, and there’s basically no content. 

Initially, the Plat-verse’s existence was not that widely known, but a recent review by Japanese sociologist and author Noritoshi Furuichi has made it blow up – and not in a good way. In a post on X, Furuichi calls the government’s metaverse “unbelievably bad” and “utterly shocking,” citing the fact that all communication between users (voice chat, text chat) is prohibited. As soon as you enter Plat-verse, he says, an avatar called “Security” approaches you, asks you to mute yourself and keeps a watch on you to make sure you don’t attempt to communicate with others.  

“But if you can’t communicate with others, surely there are other things you can do, like playing games, right?” Furuichi asks rhetorically. But in fact, there is no form of activity in Plat-verse. “At best, you can get redirected to the government’s homepage,” he says. 

“I think you couldn’t find a metaverse as lonely as this if you searched the whole world. I feel genuine concern for the people who launched this as the centerpiece of a campaign against loneliness and isolation,” Furuichi laments. 

The author of this article could not access Plat-verse without being removed instantly, but the page leading to the metaverse warns you to turn off your microphone and camera, as well as the fact that chat is forbidden. The project appears to include educational/awareness raising seminars scheduled throughout the month, but it seems these redirect to YouTube rather than taking place inside of the metaverse. As Noritoshi Furuichi describes it, it really is “a place that causes hopeless feelings of loneliness.”