Becoming a parent can be difficult in the best of times, and especially so in 2020. Cases of postpartum depression are on the rise in Japan as women face a lack of social and emotional contact. Amid increasing mental health concerns, there’s room for brands to step in with targeted support.

Finding a mate is hard in the best of times, and in the pandemic it’s even trickier. In Japan, inventors are harnessing robot companionship to replicate everyday sensory moments of human interaction: they’ve created a robot hand to simulate the experience of taking a romantic stroll in the park.

Young Japanese urbanites are staying single for longer and looking for a way to live alone while retaining a sense of belonging and community. OYO Life aims to give cash-strapped Gen Yers and Zers the opportunity to rent affordable, fully-managed apartments, houses, or houseshares in Tokyo.

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly reconfigured the world as we know it – and a mental health crisis could be waiting in its aftermath. Canvas8 spoke to Staci K. Haines, the author of The Politics of Trauma, to understand how the outbreak is set to challenge and change our emotional wellbeing.