>>281220361It's not a rumor, he lost his house and a lot of material he wrote in the 1995 Kobe earthquake, which was such a catastrophe that it has its own name (Great Hanshin Earthquake) and Wikipedia page
https://youtu.be/sZ_gT5g28OU
He also had health issues and had to take care of his parents, so I don't blame him for doing his own thing after dealing with all of that. The dude revolutionized the sci-fi landscape, so he can do whatever he wants.