Photo/Illutration The Cabinet Office building in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The government estimates that as many as 1.46 million working-age people in Japan are living as social recluses by refusing to interact with society.

It was the first study by the Cabinet Office into the phenomenon of “hikikomori” among people aged between 15 and 64. 

Earlier studies focused on younger people who chose not to attend school and remained secluded at home. But later studies found that the problem often continued for many more years, well into adulthood, prompting authorities to study the situation facing older people.

Cabinet Office officials discussing the results of the latest study, released March 31, said the novel coronavirus pandemic cast a large shadow over the issue, as roughly one in five social recluses cited the health scare as their primary reason for remaining indoors.

The study was carried out last November and responses were received from about 11,300 individuals chosen at random.

The estimate of 1.46 million social recluses means that about one in 50 Japanese rarely leaves home.

But Cabinet Office officials added that some of those in the study may have decided to remain in the confines of their home over the past three years for fear of becoming infected with COVID-19.

The study found that about 60 percent of the social recluses were male.

Asked to state what prompted them to become recluses, 21.5 percent of respondents--the largest number among those aged between 15 and 39--gave quitting their jobs as the reason. The study said 18.1 percent cited the COVID-19 pandemic as the main cause.

As for the duration of remaining home-bound, 21.5 percent of those aged between 15 and 39 said between six and less than 12 months, while 17.4 percent said between three and less than five years.

The study defined a social recluse as someone who did not leave their room or home for more than six months. But those who ventured only to neighborhood convenience stores or left home purely to take part in hobby activities were also classified as social recluses.

The Cabinet Office initially focused its study of social recluses on those between 15 and 39. But in its study for fiscal 2018, the agency for the first time looked at those aged between 40 and 64.

The fiscal 2015 study estimated 541,000 people between the ages of 15 and 39 who were social recluses, while the fiscal 2018 estimate put the figure at 613,000.

Cabinet Office officials said no simple comparison could be made with past estimates because the methods used in the latest study were different.

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