A Sociology of Hikikomori: Experiences of Isolation, Family-Dependency, and Social Policy in Contemporary Japan

Hikikomori, which literally means withdrawal, is considered an increasingly prevalent form of social isolation in Japanese society. This issue has been attracting worldwide attention for two decades and is now recognized as a problem for the youth as well as for middle-aged and older adults. Based on interviews with people who have experienced it, Teppei Sekimizu explores what the hikikomori experience is like from a sociological perspective. He also examines the characteristics of four decades of hikikomori discourse by governments, professionals, and mass media; the difficulties faced by parents with hikikomori children; and the social policy which has relegated most provision of welfare for citizens to the private sector. Through these examinations, the author illustrates how the exclusive labor market and familial social policies create masses of family-dependent and isolated individuals in contemporary Japan. The Sociology of the Hikikomori Experience leads the reader to understand the manifold hikikomori phenomenon in a wider social context and also to a deeper understanding of Japanese society itself, which has regarded not the government, but corporations, families, and communities responsible for individual well-being.