Eigopass Customized Program Societal Issues

NEET and Hikikomori

By Eigopass

As many as a million young people in Japan are thought to remain holed up in their homes sometimes for decades at a time. Why?

For Hide, the problems started when he gave up school.

"I started to blame myself and my parents also blamed me for not going
to school. The pressure started to build up," he says.
"Then, gradually, I became afraid to go out and fearful of meeting
people. And then I couldn't get out of my house."
Gradually, Hide relinquished all communication with friends and eventually, his parents. To avoid seeing
them he slept through the day and sat up all night, watching TV.
"I had all kinds of negative emotions inside me," he says. "The desire to go outside, anger towards
society and my parents, sadness about having this condition, fear about what would happen in the future,
and jealousy towards the people who were leading normal lives."
Hide had become "withdrawn" or for lack of a better word a modern day hermit.
In Japan, a well-known term is used to label these individuals. It is a word that everyone knows.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:

1.

After reading the above article, what do you think is the Japanese word/term that refers to these socially

2.

withdrawn individuals?
Do you personally know or know of someone who has come into contact with a person suffering from the

3.
4.

above conditions?
Is this condition mainly affecting men? What do you think?
What do you think are some causes or reasons that lead to this condition?

Japan is grappling with this mysterious problem among young people.

It is estimated that some 600,000 to 2 million are affected by this condition that leaves them unable to
leave the houseor even their roomsfor years at a time. It's called hikikomori, a word that has been
commonplace in Japan since the 1990s, though a few cases have also been seen in the US and other
countries. "If you ask people in Japan about hikikomori, almost everyone will say, 'I know somebody
like that,'" a psychologist said in the Japan Times last year. It's considered by many to be one of the
country's top health issues, but what is going on, and whether those considered to be hikikomori are
living with a mental illness, remains unclear.
Treatment of the condition, which often affects young men, has been elusive. Every prefecture is legally
required to have a treatment center, but few hikikomori actually visit them, and even when they do, few
receive successful care.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
5. If your child became socially withdrawn or hikikomori, how
would you deal with it? Give some examples of what you
would do.

On July 30th, in Yoyogi, Tokyo, a group of people gathered

to talk about business. At first glance, it might have looked
like a typical business conference, with more than a hundred people getting together to discuss their
future business plans. Yet there was something different a bit unusual about the participants. They
all represent the group of what has now become the most condescending word to describe people who,
according to some, deserve the label of spoiled grownups or leeches.
These individuals go about and do their own things without making money on their own. In other words,
its another way to describe someone who CAN spend twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week doing
nothing but still manage day-to-day survival with full access to food, clothes and shelter. Of course,
everyone has the right to decide how they want to live their lives. If they have all the means to continue
living a life they currently live, why would they want to change it now?
From a social perspective, however, many have criticized them for bringing no benefit to society.
But there is one thing that everyone (perhaps even these individuals themselves) knows for sure. They
could all be part of productive labor force, if someone or something could stimulate their inner desire to
become one and kick them into action.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:

6.
7.

What do you think is the term used to refer to these so called spoiled grownups who spend their day
doing little to know work?
Do you think a NEET and a HIKIKOMORI is the same or different? Explain.

Personal Stories

In one case, a man in his 20s in Saitama Prefecture said that his
parents were urging him to become independent , but that he was
unable to do so because he was not confident he could pay his
rent. In another case, a woman in her 80s in Tokyo said that her
son, who is in his 30s, moved back home after quitting his job
due to overwork -- and that he now takes out his stress on her through violence.
The committee's survey, which targeted young people in their 20s and 30s who earned less than 2
million yen a year, received 1,767 responses. Overall, 77.4 percent of respondents said they lived
with their parents, with more than half of them -- 53.7 percent -- citing their inability to pay rent as
the reason.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
8.
9.

According to the above article, why did the young man quit his job?
What is the main reason that young people cite as the main obstacle in becoming independent?

TOPICS FOR NEXT LESSON (S)

1.

What other social issues do you think is a problem in Japan? Give 2 examples.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:
1.
2.

Write a sentence with all the underlined words in the articles above.
If your son or daughter suffered from either Hikikomori or being a NEET, what would you do? Please write your
ideas/opinions to hand in to your teacher at the next lesson. Your answer should be at least 7 sentences.