Nearly one and a half million hikikomori in Japan

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This social phenomenon ranges from people who only go out to shop or pursue their hobbies to more extreme cases who rarely, if ever, leave their homes. In the government study, those who maintain this behavior for at least six months are classified as hikikomori.

The government survey found that about two percent of those aged 15 to 64 surveyed have withdrawn from society. Extrapolated to the entire Japanese population, this equates to 1.46 million people.

Unemployment and Corona Pandemic

Those affected who were interviewed in November 2022 cited the fact that they no longer have a job as the most common reason for withdrawing from society. The corona pandemic was cited as the second most important reason. 18 percent of the 15 to 39-year-old hikikomori gave this reason, and even 20 percent among the 40 to 64-year-olds.

“It seems that some people have fallen into our definition of hikikomori because the coronavirus has discouraged them from going outside and being less connected to society,” government official Koji Naito told AFP on Wednesday. He could not provide information about the development of the phenomenon in recent years because there was no previous data directly comparable to the new study.

High performance pressure and dependence

Experts suspect that many people in Japan live so secluded because they are financially dependent on their elderly parents. Other possible reasons include the high performance pressure in Japanese society and the need to conform to standards.

(AFP)

Source: Blick