Carmelo Oszustowicz, Micro Activity #14

Source 1:

Citation

“Japan: The Age of Social Withdrawal | 101 East.” YouTube, uploaded by Al Jazeera
English, 20 Mar. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aSLhz00U7s

Summary

The uploader, Al Jazeera English, utilizes interviews from hikikomori of different age groups in different parts of Japan to hear their stories/reasons as to why they lead the lives they live, with statistics of Japanese society interspersed between each interview.

Reflection

Personally, I felt very sympathetic and a strong connection to the individuals being interviewed in this documentary, as I can really relate to the feeling of not belonging with the people around you. It’s especially heart wrenching however, to realize that these people have felt like this all their lives with no sense of escape.

Quotes

Kenji (around 1:37): “It feels like you shouldn’t be here. And even if you are here, it feels like you can’t be yourself. It’s a feeling that I’m not living the life that I’m supposed to lead.”

Source 2

Citation

Saitō Tamaki. Hikikomori: Adolescence without End. Translated by Jeffrey Angles,
University of Minnesota Press, 2013

Summary

The author utilizes a number of research studies, interviews with hikikomori, and interviews with psychology specialists to compile and present data regarding the problem. While doing so, Saitō presents to the reader a number of possible solutions regarding the issues he highlighted as well as the process required to help hikikomori with their recovery back into society.

Reflection

It would be impossible to produce a research assignment with this topic in good faith without this source; Saitō is the researcher who initially shed light on this problem, leading into future public discourse. The term “hikikomori” itself was coined by him and he is internationally recognized as Japan’s leading hikikomori expert. Saitō’s tone in his book is entirely professional. He specializes in the psychiatry of puberty and adolescence, and completed a doctoral course in medicine in 1990, making him a reliable and important source of information.

Quotes

Pg. 112 – 113: “What steps are involved in trying to help a person recover from a chronic state of withdrawal? At the most basic level, there are two big steps. The first is to attempt to restore the point of connection with the two neighboring systems. In other words, it is necessary to restore a point of connection between the individual and the family, and between the family and society. Once that has happened, then it will be time for the second big step: restoring the point of connection between the individual and society.”