in Japan, the authorities are concerned about a tendency to withdraw into oneself which is continuing

Even before the Covid-19 epidemic, Japan had to face this phenomenon of voluntary isolation which affects hundreds of thousands of people. We are talking here about “hikikomori”, literally “social withdrawal”, in other words confinement. Often, these are single men who have been in a situation of school or professional failure and who isolate themselves in their room, if they still live with their parents, or in their studio if they live alone. This often lasts for years. We are talking about people who never leave their homes or only exceptionally go to the local convenience store to buy some food.

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So far, sociological studies have tried to measure the extent of this phenomenon among 15-39 year olds. In 2015, the government estimated that the country had 541,000 “hikikomori”. And according to a government study, the phenomenon has increased since the Covid crisis. It was carried out in November 2022, so towards the end of the epidemic, and the authorities counted, at that time, 1,460,000 “hikikomori” throughout the country. This is one Japanese adult out of 50. It should be noted that this time, the survey was broadened in terms of age groups. It did not only concern 15-39 year olds but 15-64 year olds. This partly explains the surge in the number of recluses.

Anxiogenic communication and wearing a mask

The government says, however, that the pandemic has amplified the tendency to withdraw into oneself. When these confined people are asked why they have withdrawn from the world, one in five say they have problems with social interactions. This was already the case before, but they explain that it was the Covid crisis that encouraged them to stay locked up at home. The figure is, moreover, higher among the somewhat older recluses than among the young recluses.

You think 2 months of Corona #quarantine is a trip? Try a decade, like the #hikikomori people of #Japan. People, who willingly seclude themselves from everyone and the society that surrounds them for years … sometimes decades. https://t.co/af7rhaIi3F@dwvcd #Insulation pic.twitter.com/mape0EIChl

— Supercords (@Supercords) May 21, 2020

The Covid-19 epidemic in Japan was however less brutal than in France. There has never been a mandatory quarantine like in France or other Asian countries. Japanese men and women continued to go to work or shop normally. But there was still very strong social pressure, from the authorities, companies or the community, to push people to restrict their movements as much as possible. Even today, after years of rather anxiety-provoking communication, a majority of Japanese wear masks in the street. This weighs heavily on people who are already naturally anxious or ill at ease in society. And that of course does not encourage the “hikikomori” to dare to leave their homes.