Jakarta –
From a survey conducted, nearly 1.5 million people in Japan chose to withdraw from public life. They choose to live a closed life in their residence.
This is a hikikomori or seclusion lifestyle which is defined by the government as a person who is in self-isolation for at least 6 months. Some of these people only leave the house to buy food and do activities once in a while.
The term hikikomori is a phrase that appeared in the 1980s. The authorities have expressed concern about this problem in the last decade. However, the COVID pandemic that has occurred has made matters worse.
The national survey found that among 12,249 respondents, about 2 percent of people aged 15 to 64 identified as hikikomori, with a slight increase among those aged 15 to 39. With that percentage applied to Japan’s total population, there are an estimated 1.46 million people who prefer to self-isolate.
There are several reasons people prefer to isolate themselves. Some of them are pregnancy, job loss, illness, retirement, and bad intrapersonal problems.
However, the main reason why this lifestyle is increasing is the COVID-19 pandemic. More than a fifth of respondents cited the pandemic as a significant factor in their solitary lifestyle.
Japan is one of the countries in East Asia to remain under strict pandemic restrictions until 2022. Japan finally reopened its borders to overseas visitors last October ending one of the strictest border controls in the world two years after the pandemic began.
“Due to COVID-19, the chances of contact with other people are reduced,” said a separate paper published in February in Japan’s National Dietary Library quoted by CNN, Saturday (8/4/2023).
Not only causing an increase in solitary lifestyles, the pandemic has also exacerbated social problems in Japan. Such as loneliness, isolation, financial difficulties, increased suicide cases, to cases of violence against children and households.
Experts say that hikikomori is often ascribed to psychological problems such as depression and anxiety although social factors also play a role, such as Japan’s patriarchal norms and demanding work culture.
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