Hikikomori...

...in Japanese means "to withdraw from society." To basically live a lifestyle not unlike that Ted Kaczynski, without all the bombs and mayhem though. So I guess that would make it quite boring, yes/no?

I found this article in the Taipei Times and decided to share it with you, my faithful flock...all 6 of you.

It begins by saying "In what has been described as an epidemic for Japan, as many as one in 10 Japanese youths is living as a modern-day hermit.
Often aided by their embarrassed families, up to 1 million young men may be hiding from the outside world -- perhaps never even leaving their bedrooms."

Ok fair enough, there are plenty of Americans that do this as well, as there are people in most cultures I would assume. The staggering number, 500,000 to 1 million, is what blows my mind.

I, along with all of you reading this, have had periods of time where all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball in my room/apt and get over whatever it is that was bothering me at the time on my own. I wanted to be alone. Interaction with the outside world through any means...Email, IM, phone, snail mail, video conference, Morse code, smoke signals, or even flashing lights would have been a hassle. It usually lasts only a day or two at most...Then I slowly return back to life and everything is ok within a few more days. These people spend whole lives like this. The results are usually the same people here in America who spend countless hours in chat rooms having cyber sex and never really interacting with normal humans outside of work experience...They become sociopaths.

The first example of this is a kid who, at age 20, became a shut in. The only thing that saved him was when his family took him to a horse riding school and he fell in love with equestrian sports. Now he is an instructor. That is a great, creative way to keep your mind off of the demons. Just make sure when they come out at night in the dark, empty stillness of your bedroom that your horse can kick them in the teeth.

"Leading Japanese psychiatrist and hikikomiri specialist Dr Tamaki Saito talks about "the black hole of the spirit in Japan."

It's a view of a nation widely-regarded as being dominated by pork-barrel politics, the enslavement to the ideal of financial prosperity and the radical shift in cultural and political beliefs since the war whose young people have been questioning their parents and grandparents' work-ethic values."

I can understand this reasoning. The Japanese are famous for their work ethic that brought them out of the ruins of WW2, with America's help, and turned them into a G-5 powerhouse of a country. Iraq and Afghanistan should take notes. As a result of all that the previous generation has accomplished and all of the prosperity they have achieved the current generation of Japanese feels like there is nothing to gain that their parent's can't already give them/haven't already attained. They are a generation without a directions, a reason why so many people my age in Japan still live at home, don't work, and take menial jobs working in Karaoke-ya's or as bartenders/waitresses...which in Japan only make salary, no tipping is allowed...so the amount of money they make is not a lot.

These people then take their hardly earned money and buy Louie Vuitton handbags, Prada shoes, and take trips around the world because they have no real expenses. Living at home has afforded them the luxury of having 100% of their income be disposable income. That's all fine and good while their parents are still alive...but when these children are middle aged, still single, living at home, and both their parents check out what are they going to do? I wrote an article about this a while ago. Can't be bothered to link to it because anyone who reads this shit on a daily basis will remember it.

This quote "Phillida Purvis, director of Links Japan, which promotes exchange of social welfare ideas between Japan and the UK, said the problem may be that Japan's younger generation have never known hard times.
"Their parents lives were so destroyed by the war, they wanted their kids to have everything. In this way a lot of Japanese kids are quite spoiled," she said," backs up
everything I just said. Am I a genius or what? I am reading this article as I respond to it. Booyakashou!!!!

Apparently though, these hermits are seeking help..."Link such expansion to a Japanese Ministry of Health survey in 2000, which showed that more than 6,000 hikikomori were seeking help in public health centers and that the signs of change are under way." Why do they need support groups? I don't understand. I think it's great they are making an effort, but give me a break.

If an alcoholic really wants to quit drinking he can do it on his own. Just put down the bottle. I have battled off and on with alcoholism for the past several years...I have had my ups and downs. I hit rock bottom shortly before I came back to NY. Me hitting rock bottom is one of the major reasons I am back here. I recognized it and am now doing much better. I can keep my drinking under control, for now anyway. Alcoholism is a disease, atleast that's what they say. Having been one for several years I think it is nothing more than a mental fight. There is nothing physical about it. Yes you go through serious withdrawal symptoms, but I equate them to nothing more than an extended hangover. Think about it, if you drink all night you feel like shit for a day...Maybe two if you really hit the sauce. Now hit the sauce for a few months or years, do the math. It's all the same. A hangover's a hangover, the amount of alcohol consumed and the time spent drinking is what dictates the length of it. Common fucking sense.

If people want help the best way to get it is to help yourself. Support groups are a crutch of the weak. If I really wanted to quit smoking, something I have unsuccessfully tried 489,246,514,687,354 times, I would throw away my Camel Lights, toss the Zippo, and stop. I won't though. I like smoking. Nicotine keeps me balanced. Despite the fact my grandfather died a short while ago of Lung Cancer that spawned from Emphysema, I still want a cigg. In a warped way it made me want one more. My mother, aunt, brother's gf, and I all stood outside the funeral chapel smoking a cigg at the end of the service...Why? Because we like our god damn cigarettes.

If these people want to reintegrate themselves into society they should open the door and hit the pavement. Get a fucking job, find a partner, do your thing. So what if people bullied and picked on you in high school? People did that to me in high school too. It fucked me up a bit while I was in school, but now those people pump gas and work at the car wash while I sit on a trading desk all day working for a huge investment bank...That's usually how it works out in the end.

Hikikomori ganbatte ne! You don't need support groups or message boards like 2ch to get you out of your rut. You need only yourself, a shower, and a can do attitude.

I had it all, lost it, and am now trying my damnedest to get it all back. If I can go this low and climb out of it you can too. Put away the Manga, the PS2, get some fresh air, and live your life. There are so many amazing things to do and see on this planet. The possibilities for anyone in their 20's are endless. It took me a while to figure that out, the sooner y'all figure it out the better. MMM KAY?!