Hikikomori

Oh no!!! According to the Japanese news, incidents of Hikikomori have reached a national crisis!!

National Crisis?? Really??

First let me clarify what Hikikomori is. Its this phenomenon where people, typically younger men, shut themselves in their rooms for years and never leave. It would be complete isolation if it weren't for the fact that many hikikomori spend hours a day on the computer. They are usually supported by their parents financially and even have food brought to their room. I have also heard of Hikikomori that have locked themselves in the kitchen.

America has this same group of people, but they're not called hikikomori. They're called Gamers/WOW players, virgins or Lazy. I think 'National Crisis' might be overstating this situation just a bit. The problem is that Japan is a nation of copy cats. This probably has something to do with their group mentality. I've noticed that when anything happens in Japan, whether its a kid never leaving his room for 5 years or a crazy person's stabbing spree in a train station, there are swarms of copy cats after. Maybe its a way to get attention or just the fact that one person does it makes people think its okay.

True, Japan (like other Asian countries) imposes a lot of social pressure on its citizens. But Japan also has beer/liquor vending machines and legal happy endings. Trust me, life in Japan is not that stressful. I do have a different perspective though, because being a foreigner means less pressure to be Japanese (i.e. work your ass off to be accepted by Japan).

Its also very possible the Japanese media is just blowing a situation completely out of proportion, as always...false alarm folks