Hikikomori: How Society’s Pressure To Conform Leads To Extreme Isolation

A photo showing a young Japanese man living as a hikikomori in 2004.

In Japanese culture, there is a famous proverb that details the weight of society’s expectations: “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.” Ultimately, this quote illustrates the dangers of standing out, which especially shines in the cases of hikikomori syndrome, an emerging social syndrome that causes people to lock themselves away for months or even years.

The history of hikikomoris goes a long way. The phenomenon of hikikomori can be traced back to what was sometimes referred to as “truancy” or “school refusal” (called futoko in Japanese) in the 1970s and 1980s. The term was only coined in the 1990s by Tamaki Saito as hikikomori, or social withdrawal. The syndrome had become so dominant within Japanese society that it was officially defined in 2010 by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare as a phenomenon where individuals willingly refuse to interact with others in any way for at least six months. The time period in which the term hikokomori was coined was significant: Japan was entering what has become known as the “Lost Decades,” in which they experienced heavy economic failure due to the collapse of a major economic bubble in the 1990s. When the economic bubble popped, job security eroded, unemployment rose among young people, and the promise of lifelong employment, which was the cornerstone of postwar Japanese society, was no longer guaranteed. 

Historically, hikikomori syndrome reflects Japan’s transformation following World War II and the long-lasting impacts that came from it. Japan’s rapid industrialization and expansion in the era after World War II created the idea of the perfect salaryman: someone whose personal worth was tied to academic success and lifelong employment. For several decades, this system appeared effective. Economic growth in the 1960s and 1970s reinforced the belief that diligence and conformity would be rewarded with stability. However, the bubble’s collapse in the 1990s shattered the promise of economic stability. Young people who weren’t able to meet the rigid benchmarks of Japan, whether academically or socially, often faced shame in a system that never tolerated failures. Thus, the development of hikikomori emerged as a social response to Japan’s postwar industrialization, economic collapse, and cultural emphasis on conformity over individuality. 

In our contemporary society, the psychotic disorder portion of the definition is highly debated, as many people argue that numerous mental disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and depression cause hikikomori syndrome. Of course, mental health disorders causing the hikikomori syndrome is largely a product of societal pressure; having any obstacle to fitting within dominant cultural values, such as achieving a good education and attaining a stable, reliable job, results in bullying, ostracization, and rumors. That’s why many collectivist societies such as Japan, Singapore, and South Korea report higher numbers of hikikomori cases, because in their cultures, social identity is closely tied with group conformity and social performance. A single setback, like failing to procure a job or enter college, can impact not only your social standing, but also your family’s. This can trigger years of isolation by shame and the fear of judgement, in order to escape the neighbors’ judging eyes and society’s dismissal. 

When some hikikomoris were interviewed regarding the reasoning for their lifestyle, many cited that their inability to meet social benchmarks, including passing an entrance exam or acquiring a job, made them internalize shortfalls as personal failures. In a culture that places immense importance on social reputation (coined sekentei in Japanese), failure can be devastating in the face of prolonged public shame. Therefore, rather than facing the harsh reality, withdrawal from society offers a much more comforting, or at least less painful, coping mechanism.

The hikikomori serves as a physical reminder that the pressures of social conformity are far too ignored. Hikikomoris serve as the physical product of the pressures to conform to society. They’re forced into a corner and retreat due to failures to conform to society, real or perceived. In fact, it’s causing nationwide economic and social problems. For instance, something called the “8050 Problem” is emerging, which is when the parents of these aging hikikomori retire and their children cannot fend for themselves or their parents financially because they spent too much time as recluses. As such, they find themselves susceptible to the cycle of poverty. 

Furthermore, Japan’s historic refusal to openly address mental health further exacerbates this problem. Because emotional struggles have been traditionally privatized among families, creating the idea that individuals must endure hardship internally and silently, bullying (ijime in Japanese) and ostracization among people, even as early as elementary school, remain powerfully engrained within collectivist society culture. For many hikikomori individuals, withdrawal becomes the only means of escaping relentless evaluation.

However, more recently, the government and nonprofits within Japan, as well as other nations like Singapore, have attempted to address the issue of hikikomori syndrome through countless mental-health and other community services, from counseling to job reintegration programs to public outreach. Although these services have seen some form of success in the past few years, they still often struggle against deeply rooted cultural attitudes. Without a widespread cultural and social change, the solutions offered by the government and nonprofit entities remain limited in effectiveness. 

Ultimately, the hikikomori phenomenon is a key representation of the dangers of harsh and unchecked social conformity. Hikikomoris are not just some people trapped in a unique thought process; rather, they are the outcome of a system that rejects diversity and praises fitting in and being uniform. As we’ve discussed, only through structural changes within the societies of collectivist countries—Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, among many others—can we truly address the issue at its core.