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An estimated 541,000 people aged between 15 and 39 in Japan avoid social contact and shut themselves in their homes, according to a government survey released Wednesday [JS required].
The figure compares with the previous Cabinet Office survey in 2010 that found an estimated 696,000 such people — known as hikikomori — across the country. Despite the decline, the latest survey does not give an overall picture of the full extent of the phenomenon as it did not include those aged 40 or older.
But the survey does highlight a trend in which people who have withdrawn from society have done so for longer periods, as those who have shut themselves in their homes for at least seven years accounted for about 35 percent of the total.
It also showed the number of such recluses between the ages of 35 and 39 has doubled, according to the survey.
The article mentions there is a nonprofit formed to help hikikomori re-integrate with society. Wikipedia names NPO lila as one.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 10 2016, @02:07AM
It seems not. [wikipedia.org] 2007 statistics has only about 256,000, and there has been a downward trend from there.
(Score: 2) by Yog-Yogguth on Saturday September 10 2016, @09:55PM
Unless I'm being stupid (happens) that means it would only take a bit over two years to reach a number of new very young people as large as the number of recluses in the extremely hypothetical situation that there were no abortions (and without in any major way inconveniencing the women i.e. using currently non-existing high technology or supporting motherhood to an extent that they voluntarily choose not to use abortion).
It would still only take four years if half the abortions were voluntarily avoided and eight years if only a quarter of abortions were avoided, sixteen years if one in eight were avoided and so on.
First point is that the number of recluses is kind of insignificant (it might still be an actual problem to the extent that the recluse and their close ones think it is, but no need to panic over the numbers).
Second point would be that it these recluses are all that worrying it might make sense to for example create complete kindergarten coverage in Japan (which I've heard is lacking and which would be/is a huge problem for most mothers) to encourage fewer abortions and/or also other programs and/or also create technology to save those already conceived (even if that seems creepy).
Thank you for taking the effort to look up the number!
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