Japanese social withdrawal increasing according to research - hikikomori - serious social problem

“A government survey finds that nearly 700,000 young Japanese are believed to engage in "hikikomori", where people isolate themselves to avoid interaction with others...Asked why they began to avoid human interaction, 23.7 percent of the hikikomori sufferers said they failed to fit in at their workplaces, 20.3 percent said they couldn't find employment, and 11.9 percent said they had a problem with school truancy....Asked about memories of their time at elementary and junior high schools, 55.9 percent said they often had to exercise patience, and 42.4 percent said they were bullied by schoolmates.”


Source: 700,000 Japanese suffering from "hikikomori"
2010/07/24
http://www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/24_11.html