All across the globe, from Tokyo to Turin, an increasing number of young men are walling themselves off from society. In Japan, the issue of social withdrawal among young men is so severe that the Japanese have coined a term for it: hikikomori (hiki, “to withdraw,” and komori, “to remain inside”). This sociocultural phenomenon involves a complete rejection of the social contract, and a refusal to engage with other members of society. At least 1.5 million Japanese people, many of whom are young men in their 20’s and 30’s, have completely withdrawn from society. They don’t date, and they don’t work. They don’t do anything that requires them leaving their homes. In Japan’s neighbor, South Korea, some 350,000 people between the ages of 19 and 39 are “reclusive” or “lonely,” according to a Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) report. Again, many of these reclusive individuals are young men. They tend to live in small spaces, be disconnected from the outside world for extended periods of time, and display “noticeable difficulty in living a normal life.” Forty percent of the affected begin their isolation in their adolescent years. Numerous factors have contributed to the phenomenon, including financial difficulties, increased social media use, and battles with mental illness.
Of course, one needn’t live in East Asia to see the hikikomori phenomenon playing out.
