Why is the hikikomori phenomenon in Japan being treated like a national crisis? Are there legitimate health concerns involved or is it more related to culture?

Question

Why is the hikikomori phenomenon in Japan being treated like a national crisis? Are there legitimate health concerns involved or is it more related to culture?

In: 8

Answer 1

Japan has an aging population and a declining birthrate.

The elderly of Japan are afraid that if their population continues to age and decline their economy is doomed to in inescapable collapse due to lose of work force. They are also afraid on almost a genetic level that if they become too weak China will invade and devour them.

Its a culture problem made much worse by unfettered capitalism. Basically the inherent conformist bias that Japan has lead to Japanese workers putting in countless hours of unpaid overtime because they are a afraid of leaving before their bosses and managers. This leads to them spending hours at the office working instead of doing things like socializing, dating, and having families. So a lot of Japanese men don’t have the time to get married and have a family. Then those that do have their life devoured by their jobs and spend almost 0 time with their family causing them to neglect their spouse and children creating family dysfunction. You get children growing up having an absent father figure who works all day and night who is so tired they have no idea who he is. So the kids get it their heads that work is a path to doom and they see the rat race as a soul devouring trap. Add in the problem of stagnant wages and the son cannot achieve what his father did despite getting a better education and working harder.

So they retreat from this becoming shut ins and hermits who do not participate in society.

Now Japan could fix these by enacting stronger labor laws and educating the next generation that they can’t let their lives be devoured by their work. They could also provide universal low to no cost daycare to encourage people to have children. They could force corporations to pay people more.

But because the corporations control the politicians and reforms that could relieve the problems would hurt short term profits they won’t happen.

Basically without a working class revolution Japan is fucked just like the US and every country with unfettered capitalism.