Japan’s Minister of Internal Affairs has announced that the government finds there to be a total of 3,600,000 hikikomori in the country, and stressed the need to tackle the supposed problem.
The precise methodology the ministry used to come to this figure, and what it defines a hikikomori as, are however not clear – it would be far from the first time a government has manufactured dubious statistics in order to support its desired legislation.
It should also be noted that nobody has yet presented evidence (except perhaps the mass media and politicians) that the population of “hikikomori” in Japan is any higher than in other countries – socially isolated people exist in large numbers in any society.
2ch seems a fitting place to draw comment from:
Japan’s finished.
There’s no way there are that many!
You guys are probably included in the figure.
Last time it was 1 million. Now it’s 3. It’ll exceed Japan’s population soon won’t it?
We could launch a coup d’etat with that many.
We’ll be in the majority, it’s only a matter of time.
One person in 40 is a hikikomori?
We can make our own country!
We never see hikikomori so we have no idea how many there are…
That’s more than Moldova.
How the hell did they count a bunch of shut-ins?
They must at least go to the convenience store. It’s unbelievable that there are so many “ultimate hikki” who never so much as set foot outside.
Shouldn’t we start a party? Japan Hikikomori Party.
Hikikomori, NEETs, dispatch workers, suicides… there are too many in this country, what the hell is wrong with Japan, is it crazy or something?
Parents are at fault. Why don’t they just throw them out?
In a few decades the Japanese will all be indoors and outside will be nothing but Chinese.
Force all those damn hiki into the army, that’ll sort them out.
That’s 2.77% of the population. It’s a lie.
On the other hand, it would be pretty amazing for 97% of the population to be active members of society.
If 2ch were closed their population would plummet…
3.6 million votes are sleeping.
It’s an estimate. A pro-hikikomori can’t be detected by such means. The government’s 3.6 million are just the amateurs.
So wonderful to discover another person with original thoughts on this subject.
http://anamoltobene.tumblr.com/
what is the source for the number 3,600,000 ??
it is being cited on wikipedia and other places, but I think you have just made it up.
There are more NEETs in Japan than people in my country.
wait, for China and North korea take over….
One thing that they could do, is offering the knowledge of how to lucid dream to the hikikomoris. A lucid dream is a dream, in which you’re aware of that you’re dreaming, while you’re still in the dream, therefore, you can have control over your dream, and can do whatever you want, without real danger and consequences. But only with practice ofcourse. And, to practice it, they would not have to leave their homes, or their rooms, and they don’t need anyone who would personally teach it to them. There are sources on the internet about lucid dreaming. Lucidipedia.com for example.
Lucid dreaming is proven by science, so it’s a fact that it exists.
Lucid dreams can be very exciting and/or ecstatic, that is one of the reasons you have to practice, feeling excited, can wake you up.
What hikikomoris could do with lucid dreaming is, that they could set themselves free, forget about their problems at least for awhile, they could wander in their subconscious, and could interpret their dream contents, to understand theirselves better, and face with their fears, without real danger. It sounds like a therapy, but they wouldn’t need anybody to talk with, or report to, they can do it alone, in their homes, just for themselves.