Hikikomori is a psychological condition which makes people shut themselves off from society, often staying in their houses for months on end. There are at least half a million of them in Japan. It was once thought of as a young person’s condition, but sufferers are getting older and staying locked away for longer. It is an economic as well as a social threat to the country, and is seriously worrying Japanese government. As of 2015, there were 541,000 hikikomori aged 15-39 in Japan, according to government statistics. There is no data on other age groups, suggesting that the figure is likely to be far larger. Some families are also loath to report hikikomori in their households, Kingston said. Doctors began to observe hikikomori as a social phenomenon around the mid-1980s, when young men exhibited signs of lethargy, refused to communicate, and spent most of their time in their rooms. There’s no unifying reason why people become hikikomori. Some withdraw from society because they feel they don’t know what to do with their lives and can no longer cope with the pressure from people around them. Others are triggered by events in their lives, like bad grades or heartbreak. Hikikomori feel a deep sense of shame that they cannot work at a job like ordinary people. They think of themselves as worthless and unqualified for happiness. Almost all feel remorse at having betrayed their parents’ expectations. As hikikomori refuse to participate in society, let alone go to work, Japan’s economy also suffers. They diminish the size of the workforce, so they contribute to a tighter labor market. Also, they are not self-sufficient, so when family support dries up due to death or financial problems, they will need to rely on state assistance. Japanese government plans to set up counseling centers and have support staff visit hikikomori at home in a bid to boost the country’s flagging workforce. But some criticize this may put pressure on hikikomori. Professor Jeff Kingston, an Asian studies professor in Tokyo, said, “One can only hope that more access to various therapies and public health campaigns to destigmatize the phenomenon will encourage more to seek help, find it, and learn to manage their symptoms so that they can lead more productive and fulfilling lives.”