Japan’s Policy and Status for Social Isolation of Youth: Focusing on Hikikomori Policy and ‘Measures for Loneliness and Isolation’

Abstract

This article examines Japan’s youth issues centering around “hikikomori,” the current state of social isolation among youth, and the measures taken in response. While Japan, since relatively early on, has taken numerous measures—among them the “hikikomori interventions”—to address the issues of youth employment and youth social isolation and, in 2021, has embarked on government-led strategies for addressing loneliness and social isolation, there is still a need for a wide-ranging and fundamental approach to addressing the social isolation that stems from social institutions such as education, employment, family, and welfare.