The concept of “human-pet coexistence” in Japan has gained increasing attention of late, while a plethora of media reports inform of considerable troubles and conflicts among pets and people. This paper elaborates on troubles gone through by agents in Japan’s pet industry and actions taken by the agents to solve the issues, from 27 qualitative interviews and participant observation the author conducted in urban settings throughout 2022. It uncovers agents’ attitudes as they engaged with other actors in their fields. These practices appear to resonate with Okura’s (2020) concept of “engagement.” But the practice of engagement was not adequate to fully capture Japan’s case. Some agents in Japan insisted on the need for exiting from the troubled situation if they became entangled. What is more, this solution appeared appropriate, in as much as cats and dogs generally prefer to stay away from what they dislike, as some of my informants suggested. The conclusion finds that the human-pet relationships stand on a foundation of clear segregation between human and animal beings in contemporary Japan.
