Despite its collectivist traditions, Japan is seeing a rise of individuals who are actively rejecting the company of others. And from one-person karaoke boxes to solo restaurant booths, businesses are adapting to this unconventional customer.

New pressures imposed by the social wave of digital innovation are changing attitudes to solitude, which has been largely neglected as a positive lifestyle choice.

Driven by an increasing sense of loneliness, the concept of a shared house is being adopted by Japan's young singletons. Yet with so many people in Japan struggling with social anxieties, how are these micro-communities forming?

A new project at Selfridges is the latest experiment in the power of silence. A quiet oasis in the midst of a hectic shopping environment in central London, it testifies to a growing interest in the benefits of quiet introspection.