Shocking acts of violence shine a light on Japan’s million recluses

Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 10/06/2019

Investigators and the news media have zeroed in on the fact that the
attacker, who killed himself after the assault, which left two dead,
lived as an extreme recluse - or `hikikomori` as the condition is
known in Japan.
Then came another grisly crime over the weekend. A retired senior
government official fatally stabbed his 44-year-old son, who lived
with his parents and had no other social contact. The father, 76,
reportedly feared that his son, who had physically abused his mother,
might attack others, specifically citing the mass stabbing in Kawasaki.
Even before these spasms of violence, Japan`s hundreds of thousands of
hikikomori faced a stigma in a country that has retained a strong
taboo against even acknowledging mental illness. Now, psychiatrists
and advocates worry that a new wave of fearmongering will leave
hikikomori even more vilified and painted falsely as prone to heinous
crimes.
While there are extreme recluses in other countries, experts say the
condition may be most pronounced in Japan, where a culture that
emphasises conformity prompts those who do not fit in to hide away.
Hikikomori are generally defined as adults who hole up in their
parents` or other relatives` homes for six months or more, often
confined to a single room. They do not work and rarely engage with the
outside world, in many cases filling their days with television, the
internet and video games. They cannot sustain meaningful
relationships, often not even with the parents who physically and
financially care for them. Some have lived in this state for years, or
even decades.
Nearly 1.2 million people identify as hikikomori - about one in every
60 Japanese aged 15 to 64, according to a government survey released
in March. But experts say that figure most likely undercounts the full
scope of the problem.
In the Kawasaki case, local mental health officials told reporters
that the attacker, Ryuichi Iwasaki, 51, was a hikikomori who had not
worked for `a long period of time`. He was living with an aunt and an
uncle who officials said did not `want to irritate him much`.
Although there have been other high-profile violent crimes involving
hikikomori - in which they killed family members, or parents killed
adult children who had lived as recluses for years - the correlation
is still rare.
`In the past 20 years, the number of hikikomori who have committed a
violent crime is only a few - no more than 10 cases, for sure,` said
Tamaki Saito, a psychiatrist at the University of Tsukuba, near Tokyo,
who is an expert on hikikomori.
`If we compare that with the general population, I think it`s fair to
conclude that hikikomori noticeably have no relation to crimes. They
are a group with a low crime rate.`
Although some studies suggest that hikikomori commit acts of domestic
violence at higher rates than the general population, experts say the
most pressing problem is that those with the condition, like others in
Japan, rarely seek help for their mental health problems. Hikikomori
may be affected by schizophrenia, depression or anxiety, or they may
be on the autism spectrum.
`The scope of the problem is not things like a stabbing by a person
who happens to be hikikomori,` said Alan Teo, an associate professor
of psychiatry at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland who
has researched social withdrawal in Japan.
`But the scope of the problem is more in terms of hundreds of
thousands of individuals who have been in this protracted state of
withdrawal without active engagement in mental health care.`
Families are often ashamed to tell anyone that their child is struggling.
`Parents don`t disclose the state of their children to outside
society,` said Tomiko Kushihashi, who runs a chapter in Hyogo
Prefecture, west of Kyoto, of Kazoku Hikikomori Japan, a support group
for families of shut-ins. `The entire family is isolated from the
society without calling for help.`
A looming crisis, experts say, is that a large cohort of hikikomori
are getting older, with little indication that they will ever be able
to reintegrate into society. Their parents, as they grow older, worry
about who will look after these disconnected adults.
According to the government survey, an estimated 613,000 people
between 40 and 64 identify as hikikomori, outnumbering the 540,000
between 15 and 39. The vast majority are men.
Takahiro Kato, a psychiatrist at Kyushu University who researches
hikikomori and consults with families, said he was often approached by
ageing parents - mostly mothers - who asked how they could continue
providing for their grown children. `If I die, what should he do?` the
mothers commonly asked, he said.
Advocates have coined the term `8050` to refer to the demographic
problem of an increasing number of hikikomori entering their 50s while
their parents are entering their 80s.
Psychiatrists still do not know exactly what causes an individual to
withdraw into an extreme reclusive state. Some say vulnerable
individuals may have been bullied during adolescence, or never learned
to cope with anger or the stresses of daily life.
Kato said that Japan`s educational system, which emphasises shame in
its pursuit of conformity and can undermine personal confidence, may
seed reclusive tendencies.
`In the US, a child is encouraged to do things and self-esteem is
high,` he said. `In Japanese culture and the educational system,
children are not encouraged to develop high self-esteem.`
Other researchers point to economic factors - hikikomori initially
started appearing in large numbers after Japan`s property-based bubble
burst in the 1990s and many people were put out of work.
Even now that unemployment is low, some recluses may not want to take
part in Japan`s rigid and hierarchical work culture, where employees
are expected to work long hours and promotions are mostly based on
seniority rather than performance.
In the public imagination, mothers who spoil their sons are sometimes
held to blame, while others point fingers at video game addiction or
obsession with cartoons known as manga.
Some researchers say the phenomenon is more prevalent in Japan because
the nuclear family is still so central to society and parents are
reluctant to kick their children out of the house.
`Because of the way that social welfare works in Japan, it`s hard for
parents not to take those responsibilities,` said Sachiko Horiguchi,
an anthropologist at the Tokyo campus of Temple University.
Keeping everything hidden within the home can create a vicious cycle
in which both hikikomori and their family members feel trapped.
`With a strong Japanese value of having to take full responsibility
for your actions, family issues must be solved within a family,` said
Natsue Onda, a co-director of Hikikomori UX Kaigi, a group of former
and current hikikomori.
Many prefectural governments operate support centres for families of
hikikomori, but they are staffed by nonspecialists. The priority is to
help prise hikikomori out of their rooms and get them back to work, a
solution that may leave psychological issues unaddressed.
But the more hikikomori are demonised, or at least categorised as
damaged or strange, the harder it is for them to be accepted in
society or offered a job.
Private services have sprung up to assist families. They can cost
thousands of dollars and are not required to provide qualified
psychiatric care.
One such service is ReSTART, a company in Tokyo that moves hikikomori
out of their parents` homes and into dormitories.
`It`s easier said than done,` said Shigeru Kusano, a former real
estate agent who leads the company. `But, to put it bluntly, anybody
with the willpower to help others and compassion can do this job.`