In
Japan,
hikikomori (
Japanese: ひきこもり or 引きこもり,
lit. "pulling inward, being confined", i.e., "acute
social withdrawal"; colloquially/adaptive translation:
shut-in) are
reclusive adolescents or adults who withdraw from society and seek extreme degrees of
isolation and confinement.
[1] Hikikomorirefers to both the phenomenon in general and the recluses themselves. Hikikomori have been described as
loners or "modern-day
hermits".
[2]Estimates suggest that half a million Japanese youths have become social recluses,
[3] as well as more than half a million middle-aged individuals.
[4] and