The Hikikomori is an unusual phenomenon. It is a well-known psychiatric disorder in Japan and the USA, but it is stigmatized and mocked out of ignorance or culture, respectively. The stereotype of the fat virgin Internet troll living in his mother’s basement is not too far-fetched, but it is beyond a joke, it is a disease that many theories attempt to explain. A disease whose symptoms, like many mental disorders, perpetuate themselves in a cycle, bickering and pushing.

The term Hikikomori was defined by the Japanese psychologist and critic Tamaki Saitō. Its symptoms are as follows:

• Spending most of day in the house
• Nearly completely or completely financially dependent on parents or relatives
• Avoidance of social situations

There can be no physical explanation for these symptoms, and they must be present for at least six months for this to be considered Hikikomori. Saitō defines hikikomori as "a state that has become a problem by the late twenties, that involves cooping oneself up in one's own home and not participating in society for six months or longer, but that does not seem to have another psychological problem as its principal source". Victims can and do remain in isolation for years and decades depending on its severity.

Sufferers, because of their social anxiety, do not have many, if any, friends, and relationships with other people are limited to family and online friendships. This social anxiety ultimately holds them back from acquiring a job, career or training, leading to the extreme financial dependence on others. The resulting shame reduces their willingness to practice socialization and the basic social skills needed to navigate the world, thus perpetuating this cycle.

Hikikomori is somewhat similar to my first article’s mention of “Pure-O” Type OCD, wherein some sufferers of OCD report only obsessions with no compulsions, though usually there are compulsions they did not identify. In the same vein, hikikomori might not necessarily be a disorder on its own, but rather a more noticeable symptom of another psychological illness. For example, autism spectrum disorders, particularly Asperger’s, are viewed as a possible cause. A major symptom of autism is not being able to socialize with others in one’s developmental stage and a simultaneous retarded development of social skills. But there are many other contenders that vie for blame, including OCD, Major Depressive Disorder, various personality disorders, and mental retardation.

National culture also competes for fault. Japan is known for high pressure in both schools and the workplace, pressure that fuels one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and simply shutting down and locking oneself up is one way of dealing with seemingly insurmountable expectations. Michael Zielenziger wrote that this condition is related more to PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) due to Japan’s homogenous society rejecting those who feel they are different physically, emotionally, mentally, intellectually, etc.

Japanese education is responsible for much of the extreme stress put on youth there. Increasing competition has made entrance exams for schools that much harder, with even some preschools adopting these tests. Each exam is said to prepare the student for the next entrance exam until university is reached, wherein the prestige of the university is generally dependent on the difficulty of the examination, with some students taking a gap year simply to study to have a chance.

Economics is also seen as playing a role in the increasing prevalence of the disease. The ability for middle-class families to indefinitely take care of their children fuels this lack of motivation and sinking under pressure. An extremely competitive job market and ramifications of the Lost Decade has rendered the pressure pointless to face; the way of their fathers and grandfathers has melted under the flat economic state of the small island country.

Treatment is difficult, as mental illness can be hard to identify and some parents do not even treat this extreme self-inflicted social-deprivation as one. Therapy is an option, but is not always accepted due to stigmas surrounding it. Avex Group has made videos of live-action women staring at the camera in hopes that this will serve as an impetus to interact with real people by increasing comfort with eye contact in those afflicted. Other nonprofit organizations like NPO LILA also do their part to remedy the issue.

Hikikomori, in my opinion, is a result of the stigma of mental disorders in many countries. Its presence in both the West and the East proves that this is not just a cultural or ethnic phenomenon, but a larger issue of swift societal rejection so typical of us as humans. The dismissal and dehumanization of the “Internet troll” is a prejudice still accepted by modern developed societies. We enjoy applauding ourselves in our ability to accept diversity of skin color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, and physical disability, but fail on most other fronts to educate ourselves and dethrone ignorance. Ableism, especially that of mental disorders, is still an issue in need of attention, and for every claim that those affected and striking out in anger are trolls or inhuman, unworthy of our attention and guidance, we dig ourselves a deeper hole. The continuation of this phenomenon is liable to result in potentially devastating economic consequences. Japan recognizes this and there is growing concern over the reintegration of the first generation of Hikikomori into civilization. These Hikikomori have been recluses for decades and, in what has been dubbed the 2030 Problem, their coming out of the shadows and becoming productive is extraordinarily important in Japan, mostly due to their rapidly aging population and declining birth rate. Because of the ignorance of this problem, statistics on hikikomori for the USA are nearly nonexistent and the data that can be found is not reliable enough due to the dearth of peer review and repeated testing and surveys. We could very well have the exact same crisis under our noses and not even realize it and, considering we are undergoing the same lessening birth rates and increase in those unable to work due to age, it could prove to be catastrophic over the long-term.