Disadvantaged Groups in Japan, the Architect of Society 5.0: Freeter, Hikikomori, and Parasaito Shinguru

Abstract

Although humanity has experienced many positive developments from Society 1.0 to Society 5.0, it has also encountered various problems in every historical period. Due to these problems, certain segments of society have always been in a disadvantaged position. This disadvantageousness may be attributed to numerous socio-economic factors. Furthermore, some cultural codes in societies also contribute to deepening this disadvantageousness. In this context, even in a developed country such as Japan, which is the architect of Society 5.0, disadvantaged groups exist due to social, economic, and demographic problems. In addition, Japan’s socio-cultural structure has also impacted the emergence of some disadvantaged groups. Especially the increasing elderly population, problems in the labor market, changing marital dynamics, and decreasing fertility rate have caused many economic, demographic, and social problems. Within the scope of this study focused on disadvantaged groups in Japan, we explored them in the context of young, middle-aged, and old people. These groups are freeter/ furita, hikikomori, and parasaito shinguru/parasite single. Finally, the kodoku-shi problem that emerges with the increasing aging population was investigated.

Keywords

• Hikikomori
• Freeter
• Parasaito Shinguru
• Japan
• Disadvantaged Groups

Project Number

Yok

Toplum 5.0’ın Mimarı Japonya’da Dezavantajlı Gruplar: Freeter, Hikikomori ve Parasaito Shinguru

Abstract

İnsanlık Toplum 1.0’dan Toplum 5.0’a kadar birçok olumlu gelişme yaşamasına rağmen tarihin her döneminde çeşitli sorunlarla da karşılaşmıştır. Yaşanan bu sorunlar neticesinde toplumun belli kesimleri her zaman dezavantajlı konumda olmuştur. Bu dezavantajlılık, sosyo-ekonomik birçok sebebe bağlı olarak ortaya çıkabilmektedir. Diğer yandan toplumlardaki belli başlı kültürel kodların varlığı da bu dezavantajlılığın derinleşmesinde etkili olmaktadır. Bu bağlamda Toplum 5.0’ın mimarı olan Japonya gibi gelişmiş bir ülkede bile sosyal, ekonomik ve demografik sorunlara bağlı olarak dezavantajlı gruplar ortaya çıkabilmektedir. Ayrıca bazı dezavantajlı grupların ortaya çıkmasında Japonya’nın sosyo-kültürel yapısı da etkili olmaktadır. Özellikle artan yaşlı nüfus, işgücü piyasasında yaşanan sorunlar, evlilik dinamiklerinin değişmesi, doğurganlık oranının azalması gibi sorunlar; ekonomik, demografik ve sosyal birçok problemin ortaya çıkmasına neden olmaktadır. Bu çalışma kapsamında Japonya’daki dezavantajlı gruplar; gençler, orta yaşlılar ve yaşlılar bağlamında değerlendirilecektir. Bu gruplar “freeter/furita”, “hikikomori” ve “parasaito shinguru/parasite single” durumundaki bireylerdir. Çalışmada son olarak artan yaşlanan nüfusla beraber ortaya çıkan “kodokushi” sorunu değerlendirilecektir.

Keywords

• Hikikomori
• Freeter
• Parasaito Shinguru
• Japonya
• Dezavantajlı Gruplar

Supporting Institution

Yok

Project Number

Yok

Thanks

Sosyal Siyaset Konferansları Dergisi'nde emeği geçen tüm hocalarımıza teşekkürlerimi arz ederim.

References

1. Berman, N., & Rizzo, F. (2019). Unlocking Hikikomori: an interdisciplinary approach. Journal of youth studies, 22(6), 791-806. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2018.1544416
2. Bulut, Ö. Ü. R. (2019). Japonya ve Ekonomisi. Ayrıntı Dergisi, 7(78), 19-24.
3. CrossCurrents (2021, 8 Nisan). Freeter/Furita: Part-Time Workers in Japan. Erişim adresi: http://www.crosscurrents.hawaii.edu/content.aspx?lang=eng&site=japan&theme=work&subtheme=EMPLOY&unit=JWORK118
4. De Luca, M., Louët, E., Thompson, C., & Verdon, B. (2020). Hikikomori: contemporary forms of suffering in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 8(2), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.6092/2282-1619/mjcp-2507
5. Dziesinski, M. J. (2003). Hikikomori: Investigations into the phenomenon of acute social withdrawal in contemporary Japan. Honolulu: Hawaii.
6. England, C. (2017, 20 Nisan). Japan: More than four million middle-aged 'parasite singles' still live with their elderly parents. Erişim adresi: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japan-parasite-singles-four-million-middle-age-parents-live-childbirth-rate-unmarried-unemployed-a7692256.html
7. Forsberg, J. (2012). Hikikomori in Contemporary Japan: A Perspective of Amae. Stockholms Unıversitet. Bachelor Thesis in Japanese Studies.
8. Frankova, I. (2017). Does hikikomori exist in Ukraine?. European Psychiatry, 41(1), 228-228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.2230

9. Frankova, I. (2019). Similar but different: psychological and psychopathological features of primary and secondary hikikomori. Frontiers in psychiatry, 10, 1-7. 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00558
10. Haasio, A., & Naka, H. (2019). An analysis of information shared on hikikomoris discussion forums. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries (QQML), 8(4), 509-523
11. Hamasaki, Y., Pionnié-Dax, N., Dorard, G., Tajan, N., & Hikida, T. (2020). Identifying Social Withdrawal (Hikikomori) Factors in Adolescents: Understanding the Hikikomori Spectrum. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-020-01064-8
12. Ismail, R. (2020). New starts at New Start: Recovery and the work of hikikomori. Transcultural Psychiatry, 57(5), 698-709. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461520958337
13. Japan Cabinet Office. (2021, 8 Nisan). Society 5.0. Erişim adresi: https://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/english/society5_0/index.html
14. Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training. (2017). Labor situation in Japan and its analysis: detailed exposition 2016/2017. Japan Institute for labour policy and training.
15. Japantimes (2017a, 5 Nisan). 1 in 4 men, 1 in 7 women in Japan still unmarried at age 50: report. Erişim adresi: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/04/05/national/1-4-japanese-men-still-unmarried-age-50-report/
16. Japantimes. (2000, 7 Nisan). 'Parasite singles': problem or victims?. Erişim adresi: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2000/04/07/general/parasite-singles-problem-or-victims/
17. Japantimes. (2017b, 20 Nisan). Japan's middle-aged 'parasite singles' face uncertain future. Erişim adresi: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/04/20/national/social-issues/japans-middle-aged-parasite-singles-face-uncertain-future/
18. Kasuga, N. (2005). Hope between Inside and Outside: "Freeters" in Japan. For Hope in the Economy Conference, Ithaca. 1-5.
19. Kato, T. A., Sartorius, N., & Shinfuku, N. (2020). Forced social isolation due to COVID‐19 and consequent mental health problems: Lessons from hikikomori. Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 74(9), 506-507. 10.1111/pcn.13112
20. Kato, T. A., Shinfuku, N., & Tateno, M. (2020). Internet society, internet addiction, and pathological social withdrawal: the chicken and egg dilemma for internet addiction and hikikomori. Current opinion in psychiatry, 33(3), 264-270. 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000601
21. Kato, T. A., Shinfuku, N., Sartorius, N., & Kanba, S. (2017). Loneliness and single-person households: Issues of kodokushi and hikikomori in Japan. In N. Okkels, C. B. Kristiansen, & P. Munk-Jørgensen (Eds.), Mental health and illness worldwide. Mental health and illness in the city (p. 205–219). Springer Science + Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2327-9_9
22. Kato, T. A., Tateno, M., Shinfuku, N., Fujisawa, D., Teo, A. R., Sartorius, N., ... & Kanba, S. (2012). Does the ‘hikikomori’syndrome of social withdrawal exist outside Japan? A preliminary international investigation. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 47(7), 1061-1075. 10.1007/s00127-011-0411-7
23. Kato, T. A., Teo, A. R., Tateno, M., Watabe, M., Kubo, H., & Kanba, S. (2017). Can Pokémon GO rescue shut-ins (hikikomori) from their isolated world. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci, 71(1), 75-76. 10.1111/pcn.12481
24. Kawanori, Y. & Kambara, M. (2018). A Survey on ‘Hikikomori’ in a Provincial City in Japan and Factors of the Recovery. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 8(5), 54-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.30845/ijhss.v8n5a6
25. Koçak, R. (2020). Beşinci Sanayi Devrimi Toplum 5.0 ve Yapay Zekâ Kültürü. Uluslararası Halkbilimi Araştırmaları Dergisi, 3(5), 1-17.
26. Kodama, S. (2021, 13 Şubat). Japan appoints 'minister of loneliness' to help people home alone. Erişim adresi: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/Japan-appoints-minister-of-loneliness-to-help-people-home-alone
27. Koyama, A., Miyake, Y., Kawakami, N., Tsuchiya, M., Tachimori, H., Takeshima, T., & World Mental Health Japan Survey Group. (2010). Lifetime prevalence, psychiatric comorbidity and demographic correlates of “hikikomori” in a community population in Japan. Psychiatry research, 176(1), 69-74. 10.1016/j.psychres.2008.10.019
28. Krieg, A., & Dickie, J. R. (2013). Attachment and hikikomori: A psychosocial developmental model. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 59(1), 61-72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764011423182
29. Li, T. M., & Wong, P. W. (2015). Youth social withdrawal behavior (hikikomori): a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(7), 595-609. 10.1177/0004867415581179
30. Lunsing, W. (2003). 'Parasite 'and' Non-parasite' Singles: Japanese Journalists and Scholars Taking Positions. Social Science Japan Journal, 6(2), 261-265.
31. Malagón-Amor, Á., Córcoles-Martínez, D., Martín-López, L. M., & Pérez-Solà, V. (2015). Hikikomori in Spain: a descriptive study. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 61(5), 475-483. 10.1177/0020764014553003
32. Nesser, L. (2009). Hikikomori-a generation in crisis: investigations into the phenomenon of acute social withdrawal in Japan (Master's thesis University of Oslo.). Institute of Cultural Studies and Oriental Languages (IKOS),
33. Nippon (2019, 17 Eylül). Japan’s “Hikikomori” Population Could Top 10 Million. Erişim adresi: https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/c05008/japan%E2%80%99s-hikikomori-population-could-top-10-million.html
34. Nonaka, S., & Sakai, M. (2020). Association of socioeconomic factors with hikikomori in Japan from 2010–2019: a correlational study, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-47381/v1
35. Nonaka, S., Shimada, H., & Sakai, M. (2020). Family behavioral repertoires and family interaction influence the adaptive behaviors of individuals with hikikomori. Frontiers in psychiatry, 10, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00977
36. Ovejero, S., Caro-Cañizares, I., de León-Martínez, V., & Baca-Garcia, E. (2014). Prolonged social withdrawal disorder: a hikikomori case in Spain. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 60(6), 562-565. 10.1177/0020764013504560
37. Öz, E., & Vural, T. (2005). Ekonomisi ve Vergi Sistemiyle Japonya. Maliye Dergisi, 149, 105-123.
38. Pilz, M., Schmidt-Altmann, K., & Eswein, M. (2015). Problematic transitions from school to employment: freeters and NEETs in Japan and Germany. Compare: A Journal of comparative and international education, 45(1), 70-93. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2013.835193
39. Pozza, A., Coluccia, A., Kato, T., Gaetani, M., & Ferretti, F. (2019). The ‘Hikikomori’syndrome: worldwide prevalence and co-occurring major psychiatric disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol. BMJ open, 9(9), 1-8. 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025213
40. Rahman, K. M. (2007). Freeters’ and Part-timers’ Challenge to Human Resources Management in Japan. School Journal. 1-23.
41. Reiko, K. (2006). Youth Employment in Japan's Economic Recovery: 'Freeters' and 'NEETs'. The Asia-Pacific Journal, 4(5), 1-5.
42. Retherford, R. D., Ogawa, N., & Matsukura, R. (2001). Late marriage and less marriage in Japan. Population and development review, 27(1), 65-102.
43. Roza, T. H., Spritzer, D. T., Gadelha, A., & Passos, I. C. (2021). Hikikomori and the COVID-19 pandemic: not leaving behind the socially withdrawn. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry, 43(1), 114-116. 10.1590/1516-4446-2020-1145
44. Saardchom, N., & Lemaire, J. (2005). Causes of increasing ages at marriage: An international regression study. Marriage & family review, 37(3), 73-97. https://doi.org/10.1300/J002v37n03_05
45. Sakamoto, N., Martin, R. G., Kumano, H., Kuboki, T., & Al-Adawi, S. (2005). Hikikomori, is it a culture-reactive or culture-bound syndrome? Nidotherapy and a clinical vignette from Oman. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 35(2), 191-198.
46. Sığrı, Ü. (2006). Japonların kültürel özellikleri bağlamında; yönetsel, ekonomik ve sosyal süreçlerinin analizi. İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 5(9), 29-47.
47. Silić, A., Vukojević, J., Čulo, I., & Falak, H. (2019). Hikikomori silent epidemic: a case study. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process, and Outcome, 22(2), 317-322. 10.4081/ripppo.2019.377
48. Soetanto, K., & Zhou, Y. H. (2010, June). Notice of Retraction: Study on Freeter and NEET and its measure. In 2010 international conference on financial theory and engineering (pp. 267-270). IEEE.
49. Standing, G. (2014). Prekarya Yeni Tehlikeli Sınıf. Çev: Ergin Bulut, İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları.
50. Statista. (2021, 8 Nisan). Mean age at first marriage in Japan from 1955 to 2019, by gender. Erişim adresi: https://www.statista.com/statistics/611957/japan-mean-age-marriage-by-gender/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20statistic%20about,when%20they%20first%20got%20married.
51. Stavropoulos, V., Anderson, E. E., Beard, C., Latifi, M. Q., Kuss, D., & Griffiths, M. (2019). A preliminary cross-cultural study of Hikikomori and Internet Gaming Disorder: The moderating effects of game-playing time and living with parents. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 9, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2018.10.001
52. Stip, E., Thibault, A., Beauchamp-Chatel, A., & Kisely, S. (2016). Internet addiction, hikikomori syndrome, and the prodromal phase of psychosis. Frontiers in psychiatry, 7, 1-6. 10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00006
53. Suwa, M., & Hara, K. (2007). Hikikomori'among Young Adults in Japan. Journal of medical welfare, 3, 94-101.
54. Suwa, M., & Suzuki, K. (2013). The phenomenon of “hikikomori”(social withdrawal) and the socio-cultural situation in Japan today. Journal of Psychopathology, 19, 191-198.
55. Suzuki, M. A. (2020). Modern Hermits: Hikikomori (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon).
56. T.C Dışişleri Bakanlığı .(2021, 8 Nisan). Japonya’nın Ekonomisi. Erişim Adresi: https://www.mfa.gov.tr/japonya_ekonomisi.tr.mfa
57. Tajan, N., Yukiko, H., & Pionnié-Dax, N. (2017). Hikikomori: The Japanese Cabinet Office’s 2016 survey of acute social withdrawal. The Asia Pacific Journal, 15(5), 1-11.
58. Tateno, M., Teo, A. R., Ukai, W., Kanazawa, J., Katsuki, R., Kubo, H., & Kato, T. A. (2019). Internet addiction, smartphone addiction, and Hikikomori trait in Japanese young adult: social isolation and social network. Frontiers in psychiatry, 10, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00455
59. Teo, A. R. (2013). Social isolation associated with depression: A case report of hikikomori. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 59(4), 339-341. 10.1177/0020764012437128
60. TÜİK. (2021, 18 Mart). İstatisiklerle Yaşlılar, 2020. Erişim adresi: https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Elderly-Statistics-2020-37227
61. Uchida, Y., & Norasakkunkit, V. (2015). The NEET and Hikikomori spectrum: Assessing the risks and consequences of becoming culturally marginalized. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01117
62. Ueda, Y., & Ohzono, Y. (2013). Comparison between freeters and regular employees: Moderating effects of skill evaluation on the age-satisfaction relationship. International Business Research, 6(5), 100-107. 10.5539/ibr.v6n5p100
63. Wong, P. W., Li, T. M., Chan, M., Law, Y. W., Chau, M., Cheng, C., ... & Yip, P. S. (2015). The prevalence and correlates of severe social withdrawal (hikikomori) in Hong Kong: A cross-sectional telephone-based survey study. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 61(4), 330-342. 10.1177/0020764014543711
64. Yakışan Mutlu, B. (2021, 15 Ocak). Japonya'nın kronikleşen sorunları Kovid-19 ile ayyuka çıktı. Erişim adresi: https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/ekonomi/japonyanin-kroniklesen-sorunlari-kovid-19-ile-ayyuka-cikti/2110873
65. Yamada, T. (2015). Investigating the function of social capital: a case study on self-help groups that have non-attendance school children. Hitotsubashi journal of social studies, 46(1), 1-17.
66. Yılmaz, Ö., & Şahin, A. (2020). Japonya’da deflasyon döneminde işsizlik ve işsizlikle mücadele. Lectio Socialis, 4(1), 25-40.
67. Yong, R. K. F., & Kaneko, Y. (2016). Hikikomori, a phenomenon of social withdrawal and isolation in young adults marked by an anomic response to coping difficulties: a qualitative study exploring individual experiences from first-and second-person perspectives. Open Journal of Preventive Medicine, 6(01), 1-20. 10.4236/ojpm.2016.61001
68. Yuen, J. W., Yan, Y. K., Wong, V. C., Tam, W. W., So, K. W., & Chien, W. T. (2018). A physical health profile of youths living with a “Hikikomori” lifestyle. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(2), 1-13. 10.3390/ijerph15020315