【sociopath??】Hikikomori in Japan

                               

Japan has encountered a growing phenomenon of social dropouts, first as 6-15 year old children who refuse to go to school (toukou kyohi) and then later as adults who stay sheltered at home most of the day (hikikomori) (Vogel, 2012). There are multiple factors why such people refuse social interactions, but in many cases, school kids retreat to the confines of home to avoid facing failure, rejection, or social disapproval. 

Here is the graph showing how the number of school kids in Japan (green bars), and the percentage of school refusals (red line) changed over time. As you see in the graph, the percentage of school refusal has risen up especially since 2012 (H24) whilst the number of school kids has been drastically decreasing between 1997 (H9) and 2016 (H28). This means that schools are facing more serious issues of how they could get kids to school. 

School refusals and hikikomori are issues highly embedded in Japanese cultural values and customs. Japanese people often value "collectivism" which refers to the strong sense of community or unity of group. We are pretty much supposed to follow the social norms by doing the same way the other people do. If you do something outstanding (or something not "normal"), people would cast a cynical eye on you. As the globalist perspective demands more "individualistic" values for seeking global competitiveness in the world, however, Japanese society today began to focus on "individualism" introducing a new pattern of thinking and behavior, and giving freedom and responsibility to individuals. The struggle of people labeled "sociopath," that ensues in today's Japanese society, can be seen as a battle between new and old cultural values.

<reference>

Vogel, H. S. (2012). Japanese Society under Stress. Asian Survey, Vol. 52, No. 4. pp. 687-713