Mental Health and Social Withdrawal in Contemporary Japan by Nicolas Tajan

Author:Nicolas Tajan [Tajan, Nicolas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Psychology, General, Personality, Mental Health, Social Science, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9780815365747
Google: o1gMEAAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 54502132
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2021-01-04T03:12:59+00:00

Kaneko Sachiko (2006)

Much like Ogino’s work, Kaneko (2006) has contributed significantly to elucidating the hikikomori phenomenon. Kaneko studies the testimonies of those who have experienced hikikomori (hikikomori keikensha) and conducted an ethnographic survey of support groups. Her work first highlights the presence of a hikikomori industry (gyōkai) – Internet forums, TV shows, articles, anime, manga, novels – with more than 100 support groups since 2002 (Kaneko 2006: 234), and which has increased significantly since then. According to her, when the Japanese are led to explain the causes of social withdrawal, answers are highly varied: not only education, new technologies, nuclearization of the family, amae, collectivism, changes in society but also staying at home for psychological and economic reasons, the fact that society allows it, etc. As this anthropologist asserts, saying that hikikomori comes from the middle class implies that this situation could potentially affect all Japanese families, because it is popular to self-identify as middle class in Japan. Under age 18, one speaks of futōkō (school nonattendance) rather than hikikomori, and in accordance with what has already been highlighted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW 2003), it is often the parents who seek help. Her field survey began in July 2003 and ended in July 2004: she regularly participated in the activities of a group, named by her “group A” and conducted research interviews with those who were engaged in the hikikomori industry. As part of her investigation of hikikomori autobiographies, she noticed that these writings are structured in the same way: before, during, and after the hikikomori period. The following excerpts of an interview with Mr. Suzuki illustrate this.

First, concerning the period prior to hikikomori up until primary school, Mr. Suzuki had experienced much emotional pain; he could not trust anyone, not even his parents who were always fighting with each other; he could not accept them as they were: “My mother always complained to me about my father who had a short temper. Often, after dinner, I would listen to my mother’s complaints, and when doing so, I saw myself as playing the ‘supporter’ role for my mother.” (Kaneko 2006: 237). So he suggested his mother to divorce his father, but she had a particularly traumatic answer for him: if she were to divorce, she would take his sister and leave him with his father. “I thought I had always hated my father, but it was after my father passed away that I became hikikomori. This happened when I was in my late twenties. I have never wanted to become an adult because I could not respect my parents. This was why I went to university so that I could delay becoming an adult for as long as possible.” (Kaneko 2006: 237). The story continues with the postgraduate period: “I had no choice but to start a full-time job. This was at a time when there were no such things as furītā. (…) I felt as if my life was over, and that I was going to hell.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.