Modern-day hermits in Japan 🫥

Did someone forward this email to you? Click here to get a free subscription to the Daily Concept newsletter.

Today’s newsletter is about a Japanese term that has spread around the world: hikikomori.

Hikikomori are people who consciously choose to remove themselves from society and live in their bedrooms.

It’s been defined as a form of “severe social withdrawal.”

In Japan, there are more than 1 million hikikomori.

Hikikomori typically don’t work, and most of them spend their time watching videos or playing video games.

Many live with their parents, who support them financially.

Some hikikomori experience such severe social anxiety that they only leave their bedroom when their family members are sleeping or out of the house.

The chart below shows how hikikomori report spending their time:

A Japanese psychiatrist coined the term “hikikomori” in 1998, combining “hiki” (which means “to withdraw”) and “komori” (which means “to be inside.”)

Research funded by the Japanese government identified three key characteristics for someone to qualify as a hikikikomori:

• being physically isolated at home for at least six months

• being cut off from meaningful social relationships (outside of immediate family)

• experiencing significant stress around social situations

Why do people become hikikomori?

Japanese culture is highly shame-based.

So the idea that you are a “failure” because you didn't succeed in school or in the job market leads people to hide themselves from the world. (see the comic below)

One study found that 1.2% of people between 20-49 years old in Japan have been hikikomori.

Just because they don’t socialize in real life doesn’t mean that hikikomori don’t want to socialize at all.

Many of them have active social lives online, where they meet friends through video games or shared interests like anime.

There’s even an r/hikikomori subreddit. (a subreddit is a forum on the popular website reddit.com)

Here’s a sample post:

The r/hikikomori subreddit is fascinating — and quite sad.

As you read it, you can see that many of the people posting there still crave social interaction and feelings of community.

But their intense social anxiety makes in-person socialization overwhelming.

Studies have shown that hikikomori are more likely to suffer from mood disorders than the general population.

Conditions like avoidant personality disorder, social anxiety disorder, and agoraphobia have all been linked to hikikomori.

What can be done to help hikikomori?

The Japanese government takes the hikikomori problem seriously, and it has tried different policies to help hikikomoris and their families.

Many programs aim to provide therapy to hikikomori, or to teach their families ways to encourage them to leave the home and socialize.

One study found that three months of “jogging therapy” helped a 20-year-old hikikomori to improve his self-confidence and get a job.

A Japanese company even created DVDs that feature women staring into the camera to help hikikomori to develop their ability to maintain eye contact. (see below)

There are even “rental sister” companies that provide young women to encourage the hikikomori to re-integrate into society. (depicted in the cartoon below)

Other companies have started "sharehouses" where hikikomori can go to live together, sharing meals and engaging in basic social activities alongside others who struggle to socialize.

LEARN MORE

READ: Here’s a great article from CNN about the hikikomori phenomenon:

WATCH: And here’s a documentary from France24 about hikikomoris.

And now, a word from our sponsors at the 1440 newsletter:

Fact-based news without bias awaits. Make 1440 your choice today.

Overwhelmed by biased news? Cut through the clutter and get straight facts with your daily 1440 digest. From politics to sports, join millions who start their day informed.

Sign up now!

ART OF THE DAY