An increasing number of young people are withdrawing from society, sometimes seeking extreme degrees of isolation and self-confinement. The term describing such forms of severe social withdrawal, hikikomori, originated in Japan, but is found across cultures, most commonly in urban areas and high-income countries. Hikikomori isolate themselves for at least six months, spend most of their time at home, and do not participate in society. They are likely to stay shut-ins for years, with the average time spent in this condition being around 10 years. According to the Cabinet Office of the Japanese Government, around 2% of Japanese people aged 15 to 39 were hikikomori in 2016, with the total group of hikikomori across all ages equalling a total number of 1.5 million people in 2023. Men are more likely to be hikikomori, making up 60% of the hikikomori population. Withdrawing from society often coincides with poor mental health. Furthermore, career prospects of young hikikomori are low. For instance, the Cabinet Office estimated that around one quarter of all people who are not in employment or in education are hikikomori. Seeking assistance is a major challenge for them, as it takes on average more than four years for hikikomori to access the help they need.
To target hikikomori, Japanese Government has many different policies including Community Hikikomori Support Centres, which provide counselling and can refer young people and their parents to specialised providers including the mental health services. Another effective intervention is the 5-day hikikomori intervention, a pilot trial that was held in between November 2017 and June 2018 at Kyushu University hospital, with the purpose of providing family, primarily parents, of hikikomori with the tools to be able to support their suffering family members. A second programme targeting parents was held between 2019 and 2021 but could not be finished due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
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