Christopher Zhu/Getty Images/File
Large parts of Tokyo, Japan, are empty streets on April 7, 2020, after a state of emergency was declared in response to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
Tokyo
CNN
—
According to a new government study, nearly 1.5 million people across Japan have withdrawn from society and are living reclusive lives, mostly confined within the walls of their homes.
these are from japan Hikikomori, or a recluse. It is defined as people who have been quarantined by the government for at least six months. Some people only go out for groceries or occasional activities, while others never leave their bedrooms.
The term was already coined in the 1980s, and authorities have become increasingly concerned about the issue over the past decade, but a study conducted by the government’s Children and Families Agency in November shows that the coronavirus pandemic has brought the situation to a head. It became clear that it was getting worse.
The national survey found that of the 12,249 respondents, approximately 2% of those aged 15 to 64 identified as hikikomori., Applying this percentage to Japan’s total population, there are an estimated 1.46 million socially withdrawn people in the country, according to an agency spokesperson.
Common reasons for social isolation include pregnancy, unemployment, illness, retirement, and poor relationships. However, the biggest reason was COVID-19, with more than a fifth of respondents saying the pandemic was an important factor in their reclusion.
No further details were provided about the impact of COVID-19 on respondents.
Japan, like many countries in East Asia, has maintained strict regulations. Pandemic restrictions will remain in place until 2022, even as other regions have come to terms with “living with Covid-19”. It only reopened its borders to international visitors last October, ending one of the world’s strictest border controls, more than two years after the pandemic began.
But the sacrifices of recent years are still being felt deeply.
“Due to the impact of the coronavirus infection, opportunities for contact with other people have decreased,” said another paper published in February at Japan’s National Diet Library.
The report added that the pandemic may have exacerbated existing social problems such as loneliness, isolation and economic hardship, and pointed to increases in reported suicides and child and domestic abuse.
Experts previously told CNN that while hikikomori is often thought to be caused by psychological issues such as depression and anxiety, social factors such as Japan’s patriarchal norms and harsh work culture may also play a role. He said he was involved.
05:58 – Source: CNN
Japan’s rural society is disappearing.The problem is that the city is also
But hikikomori existed long before the pandemic, and was tied to Japan’s other pressing problem: the population crisis.
Japan’s population has been steadily declining since the economic boom of the 1980s, and the birth rate and annual number of births have hit record lows for several years in a row.
Meanwhile, the elderly population is growing as people retire from the workforce and age towards retirement, posing problems for an already stagnant economy. The situation is so dire that the prime minister warned earlier this year that the country was “on the brink of not being able to function as a society.”
This poses a double challenge for families with hikikomori members, known as the “8050 problem,” which refers to socially withdrawn people in their 50s who rely on parents in their 80s.
Officials say other factors include a growing number of single adults as dating and marriage become less attractive, and real-life connections weakening as people move their communities online. .
In 2018, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare established the Hikikomori Community Support Agency to support people affected by hikikomori.
Takumi Nemoto, the then-Ministry Secretary, said in 2019, “I believe it is important to restore ties with society while providing detailed support to those who have left the group, depending on their individual circumstances.”
He said that local and national authorities are conducting a variety of activities aimed at “households that find it difficult to issue an SOS on their own,” such as counseling for hikikomori, home visits, housing support for middle-aged and elderly people, and other community support activities. He added that they are starting a new service. ”
But these efforts have been dwarfed by the challenges posed during the pandemic, with the government set to carry out a national survey on loneliness from 2021 and announce a more intensive response plan in December 2022. .
Some of the measures include promoting public awareness and suicide prevention campaigns through social media. Increase the number of school counselors and social workers. Continue the 24-hour, 365-day telephone consultation service for people with “weak social connections.”
There are also programs aimed at single-parent households, such as meal plans for children, mortgages, and planning services for divorcees.
The government said in its plan that while the pandemic may have caused great isolation in society, it may have simply shone a light on long-standing issues that are usually overlooked.
“The number of single-person households and elderly single-person households is expected to increase in the future, and there are concerns that the problem of loneliness and isolation will become even more serious.”
“Therefore, even if the spread of COVID-19 is brought under control in the future, the government will need to…address the problems of loneliness and isolation inherent in Japanese society.”