What you describe is definitely "an issue" -- I know people like this in the US. This is not the issue that hikikomori is representing. FWIW, I don't think th

What you describe is definitely "an issue" -- I know people like this in the US. This is not the issue that hikikomori is representing. FWIW, I don't think that this is actually unique to Japan -- I just think that it has become easier to document in Japan because so many folks in Japan are starting to think that being a hiki is a good idea, and there is societal infrastructure there to support it.