Is Hikikomori a Unique Japanese Phenomenon?

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Is Hikikomori a Unique Japanese Phenomenon?

There are several unique elements of the Japanese society which makes Hikikomori a reality, though similar problems might be developing in many other western countries. Mental disorders are an increasing problem in the West and social withdrawal is one of the symptoms.

“…young people the world over fear school or suffer agoraphobia. But
hikikomori is a specific clinical condition that doesn’t exist elsewhere.”(BBC, 20th October 2002)

The BBC documentary by Phil Rees which has been shown in many countries around the world created the picture of Hikikomori as a unique and strange Japanese phenomenon. \\\"There\\\'s nothing like this in the West.\\\" states American Dr. Henry Grubb who thereby adds to the overall impression that it is a strange phenomenon in an unusual country almost beyond the reach of our imagination.
This view of Hikikomori as a condition that is without comparison needs to be investigated further since we believe there are similarities outside Japan.
Let’s look first at the main factors justifying the view of Hikikomori as a phenomenon that exist in Japan only:

● Komori: This part of the word Hikikomori has a religious and traditional undertone thereby indicating that social withdrawal has roots in the Japanese cultural and history.

● Sekentei: The social shame and the tendency to conceal family problems are certainly stronger in Japan than in other countries.

● School system: Pressure to succeed, uncreative and uncritical teaching methods, crammed schools etc. are specific Japanese reasons for social withdrawing.

● Family structure: The family structure, the mother child relationship, and the tradition where the adolescents continue to live with parents etc. might be specific circumstances that facilitates Hikikomori.

● Collectiveness: Pressure and expectations caused by the group mentality in the class, the company, and the family is also a special characteristic in the Japanese culture. Especially the adolescent’s inability to be themselves and to be independent can be one of the reasons for social withdrawal.

These factors may explain why Hikikomori exists in such an extreme form and magnitude in Japan and overall it should also be acknowledged that Hikikomori does not exist in the same scale in other countries and is in that sense uniquely Japanese. However this does not mean that it can not be a tendency that is emerging in many other countries.

After Hikikomori became known through the BBC documentary there have been many debates on the matter in internet newsgroups. Many of the reactions are from people who can in one way or another personally relate to the Hikikomori phenomenon. Here are a few comments from the BBC website:

“It is not just in Japan! My daughter, 18-years-old hasn\\\'t gone out for over a year now!”Isabelle Fleming, England

\\\"Well my ex has a daughter who stayed in her room for 6 months having food passed in and watching TV, sleeping all day and he could tell you how they forced her to school in her pyjamas. My own daughter refused to go to school for 6 weeks and was reclusive. So there are sure to be lots of cases to study in the UK.
Anon, UK

“I do not believe this is uniquely Japanese. My own son had locked himself away for the past two or three years. Even as a psychologist I found it difficult to reverse the process I saw before me. I have heard of another Westerner who has experienced the same with her son and I suspect there are many, many more here... It is time to start researching this in our own culture.”
Dr Erica Warner, Chartered Clinical Psychologist, UK

In the Australian organization called ARAFMI “social withdrawal” is a problem discussed specifically. It is defined here as “the apparent reluctance to participate in “normal” interpersonal contacts of day to day life and retreat into one’s own comfort zone”. Among other things it is also emphasized that it is: “…important to prevent social withdrawal becoming a habitual way of life.

These examples suggest that social withdrawal actually exists outside Japan. Still we do not know in what degree and if these are only rare cases.
It is though a known fact that mental illnesses is an increasing problem in many western countries and that many of the specific mental illnesses include the symptoms of social withdrawal.
Kamma Kaspersen chairperson of the Danish Anxiety Communion has suffered from sociophobia herself. She explains that many people who suffer from a mental disorder like sociophobia or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder will arrange their life to avoid as much social contact as possible. Simple activities like going to the supermarket or the post office can be a serious challenge. She explains further that many of these people would prefer to socially withdraw if they had the possibility.

As Kamma Kaspersen indicate social withdrawal and avoidance of daily contact with other people is a well known effect if one suffers from a mental disorders. Especially the so called non-psychotic illnesses which include phobias, anxiety, depression, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder includes the tendency of isolation and is a growing problem in many western countries. In a country like Denmark that normally boasts about its welfare-system a report from the Danish Psychiatric Association suggests that about 20% of the adult population suffers from a well-defined non-psychotic mental illness. It is further suggested that about one half of them, 10% of the population, is receiving treatment.

We can at least say that there is a large group of people in other western countries that suffers from mental disorders that potentially or if possible lead to social withdrawal. We believe this means that social withdrawal is also an issue outside of Japan and is something to be aware of in industrialised countries in general.

When comparing the situation in Japan with other countries it is also important to know what the situation in Japan really is. One important piece of information provided by the research by Dr. Motohiro Sakai and others suggest that only around 10% of the individuals in Hikikomori are not able to leave their house. This means that in most cases the Hikikomori person does actually show “outing behaviour” although this is probably limited to the night time or to certain places like 24th hour shops, video rentals etc.
This is however not the picture that has been created in the medias where the seclusion was described as definite. Although the intention here is not to neglect the Hikikomori problem or to say that it is a less serious matter. We still consider the fact that they do often leave the house important information when comparing the situation with other countries. With this outing behaviour in mind finding similarities between Hikikomori in Japan and people in other countries with mental disorders seems more likely.

Conclusively we can express our opinion: that there are specific issues in the Japanese society that reinforces Hikikomori as an epidemic that is not seen in the same magnitude anywhere else. We believe, though that there are still many similarities and tendencies in other countries that can be compared with Hikikomori.