Hikikomori Syndrome

[ibanezmonster]

According to government figures released in 2010, there are 700,000 individuals living as hikikomori with an average age of 31.[3] Among these are the hikikomori that are now in their 40s and have spent 20 years in isolation, this group is generally referred to as the "first-generation hikikomori," and there is concern about their reintegration into society in what is known as "the 2030 problem," when they are in their 60s and their parents begin to die off.[3] Additionally the government estimates 1.55 million people to be on the verge of becoming hikikomori

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori


It doesn't say in the article, but the problem supposedly started during the downturn of the Japanese economy of the 90s. If you think about it, the psychology is pretty simple- people who don't pass the college entrance exams have no hope on top of no hope on top of no hope... the feelings of worthlessness leads to people to never want to leave their apartment.

Even if they retake the test, pass, and successfully complete university, often they might not make the next step and try to make a family, because they might have had fathers which work 80 hours a week, and they don't want to become like that. With apartment prices only constantly rising, it's just too much.

Somehow, their parents pay for them to survive, so they escape into video games all day and never leave the apartment.

(well, that's my best guess on how it works, anyways)

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Related to (and possibly overlapping with) the tribe of hikikomori are the freeter:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeter

I remember the US "slacker" phenomenon from the early 90s. It sounds like Japan got stuck in that era and hasn't been able to find a way out.

[ibanezmonster]

Yep, Freeter is a term I know of also, but never read the Wikipedia of it.

That article is excellently explained and detailed. Pretty much says it all...

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

From the "freeter" entry:

"The term originally included young people who deliberately chose not to become salary-men, even though jobs were available at the time."

Which is probably related to

they might have had fathers which work 80 hours a week, and they don't want to become like that.

The heroic, self-sacrificing sarariman was the foot soldier of the Japanese economic miracle. Did he also plant the seeds for its subsequent stagnation?

[ibanezmonster]

From the "freeter" entry:

"The term originally included young people who deliberately chose not to become salary-men, even though jobs were available at the time."

Which is probably related to

The heroic, self-sacrificing sarariman was the foot soldier of the Japanese economic miracle. Did he also plant the seeds for its subsequent stagnation?

Seems like it.
Salaried pay and part-time work are two very different things- part-time work means little responsibility, but salaried work (especially in Japan) can mean slavery.
One reason salary-men may work so much is that they are expected to- in Japan, it's very important that you are a team player. And this can include going to the bar or whatever at night just because your employer asks you to.

So, not only is a salaryman a slave to his family, but also to his employer. And what does he get out of it? Well, I've heard of the term "Sunday dad," which is a term to describe the only day of the week he gets to see his kids. Sounds like enough, right?... 

The traditional household where the man works a full-time job to support a family can almost seem scary enough, but when it's stretched to that extreme, it seems only natural that many people would be scared off.


I just find it interesting, because has a trend like this ever happened before?

At least according to a study published Thursday by the Japan Family Planning Association, that is. In the latest survey of attitudes to sex conducted September 2010 by the agency, part of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, fully 36% of males aged 16 to 19 surveyed described themselves as "indifferent or averse" towards having sex. That's a near 19% increase since the survey was last conducted in 2008.

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/01/13/no-sex-please-were-young-japanese-men/
(the article is about "herbivore men" in Japan, which is in some sense related to Freeters and Hikikomori)

[ibanezmonster]

Here's another one:
http://dissention.wordpress.com/2011/02/05/income-profile-of-japanese-herbivore-men/

I hadn't read about this subject in a while, but seems the "guess" on my first post actually is the explanation, according to everyone else.

Ask yourself a simple question- If your temporary job paid less than 2,000 USD per month, you lived in Japan and had no real chance of career advancement- would you care about what society thinks about you?

The apparent disinterest in sex with "real" women is also easy to understand. Japan is a society with ubiquitous and inexpensive technology, high-speed internet access and a tolerance for a variety of sexual interests. In contrast, Japanese women are supremely greedy, status conscious and manipulative ball-breakers. It certainly does not help that they are into rationing sex within marriage at the best of times.

funny comment:

And the Japanese herbivores aren't rioting like the youth in Egypt, they are holed up in their parents' apartment, quietly withdrawing from society. Similar situation, two opposite reactions.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I just find it interesting, because has a trend like this ever happened before?

I mentioned the slacker syndrome earlier. That has some parallels, but this hikikomori business sounds like something potentially much more serious and damaging to Japanese society in the long term. With the American slackers, the economy eventually got better, and most of them got jobs and more or less integrated into society.

If the current quasi-depression continues, will the USA develop its own hikikomori syndrome? Do you see any evidence of it in your own experience? Would you consider yourself "on the verge of becoming hikikomori"?

[ibanezmonster]

If the current quasi-depression continues, will the USA develop its own hikikomori syndrome?

Hmmm... good question. Maybe not to that extent, because hikikomori syndrome is mainly caused by failure of college entrance exams, and we don't have that kind of system here.
The closest thing to this is that everyone I know in their 20s is a "parasite single"- unless they get married, everyone lives with their parents. There is no such thing as living on one's own, and it's only going to get worse.

Do you see any evidence of it in your own experience?

I can see where they are coming from...
If they actually don't hate their mundane, low-paying jobs, then why struggle for something you won't get? Or if you got it, and you'd be happier doing your part-time because you have more free time, etc....

Would you consider yourself "on the verge of becoming hikikomori"?

That would be impossible, because my parents don't let me stay with them for free. I couldn't do what I do now forever, because of the unexplainable hatred for my work, so whenever I finish college, if I don't get a good job soon after that, it'll be antidepressant medications for the rest of my life while trying to pay of debt I'll never be able to pay off with low-paying jobs.


This guy is right dead-on about the topic:
http://www.youtube.com/v/SDaQa8YDSFQ

[ibanezmonster]

Results of a more recent survey finds 36% of males and 59% of females age 16-19 uninterested in or averse to sex:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/27/japan-herbivore-men-absta_n_245546.html

I suspect maybe they are the next stage in human evolution- evolving into either superhumans or robots... 

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

That's extraordinary. Probably not a coincidence that Japan is a leader in robot research.

[eyeresist]

That's extraordinary. Probably not a coincidence that Japan is a leader in robot research.

Except that robots are still very primitive. I saw a news story on a demonstration soccer match with various teams contributing humanoid-shaped robots to the teams. The result was embarrassing. They could barely move, and kept falling over.

So instead of making robots more like people, perhaps we should make people more like robots?

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

So instead of making robots more like people, perhaps we should make people more like robots?

If people don't want to have sex, we might be stuck with robots.

[Josquin des Prez]

Greg, i'd be more concerned about yourself contracting the wapanese disease:

http://encyclopediadramatica.ch/Wapanese

[ibanezmonster]

If people don't want to have sex, we might be stuck with robots.

The future hundreds of years from now would be filled with robots and stupid people. Robots will advance to where they can create other robots, and stupid people usually perpetuate their stupid genes far more than smart people.

[Szykneij]

Results of a more recent survey finds 36% of males and 59% of females age 16-19 uninterested in or averse to sex:

[drogulus]

     I think I've isolated the problem.

     http://www.youtube.com/v/jHKmcbPozQ0?hd=1

     

     

[ibanezmonster]

He would totally fit in in Japan.

     I think I've isolated the problem.     

What in the world was that? Was that a show?
Well, it's weird, and seemingly a good type of weird...

[eyeresist]

He would totally fit in in Japan.

No, he's too argumentative.

[drogulus]

What in the world was that? Was that a show?
Well, it's weird, and seemingly a good type of weird...

     This explains all:

     http://www.youtube.com/v/AVmq9dq6Nsg?hd=1

     

[ibanezmonster]

No, he's too argumentative.

I wonder why he even has friends on the show.

This explains all:

Okay, thanks. I wonder if Portland is really like this. That side of the country is a complete mystery to me.