Taxi Drivers in Japan Report Picking Up ‘Ghost Passengers’ from 2011 Tsunami

At least seven taxi drivers in the coastal town of Ishinomaki have claimed that they've picked up "phantom" passengers, almost five years after the tsunami. More than 6,000 people died in the area after the 30-foot wave came ashore back in 2011. 100 taxi drivers were interviewed by Yuka Kudo, a student of sociology at Tohoku Gakuin University, for the project. All of the drivers started the meter when the passengers entered, which suggests that they thought that the people were...well, not ghosts, but real people. They also describe the ghosts as "young."

"Young people feel strong chagrin [at their deaths] when they cannot meet the people they love," said Kudo. "As they want to convey their bitterness, they may have chosen taxis ... as a medium to do so".

None of the drivers said that they feared their passengers, but they'd rather "cherish" the experience.

I don't know if I believe in ghosts or not, but this is pretty crazy. With that many lives lost in such a small area, maybe it's possible?