Nohara at bloomberg: a lost generation
"Japan’s 2015 census revealed there were 3.4 million people in their 40s and 50s who had not married and lived with their parents."
"Japan has an estimated 613,000 middle-aged hikikomori, a term usually used to describe socially withdrawn adolescents who hole up in their bedrooms"
"many were so deeply ashamed about their failure to become successful adults in the mold of their parents that our conversations were awkward and painful."
"“I thought even if I tried, it would be in vain."
"He holed up in his parents’ house. Days became weeks became months became years. "
“In my mind, I knew I was going nowhere and I’d better quit,”
“Many parents are truly devastated with their children being withdrawn for a long time ... “We have to connect with them”
“This is the generation that was forced to swim in the murky water.”
"A 33-year-old man then says he’s been homebound for several years since dropping out of graduate school. A 46-year-old woman living with her mother says she’s too weak to work after being a shut-in for years. A 44-year-old man with a college degree wonders how long he can stand doing menial work, such as distributing flyers."
"A man in his late 70s talks about his son, who since failing a college entrance exam two decades ago spends his days in his room ... “Do you talk with him about what he wants to do in the future?” ... they had once, but not any longer. When Kono asks if the young man has any friends, the older man answers, “None.” "
" his father used to hassle him about getting a job, but the two of them no longer talk about the future. He told me he’s more conscious that his parents are nearing the end of their lives: His father no longer drives, and his mother’s spine is bent with age. "
"To cut costs and protect older workers, businesses resorted to temporary contracts, which offer less pay and skimpier benefits. Those jobs are the first to be cut during a downturn but also the first to be added back during a recovery. A new underclass of nonregular workers was created, which today makes up about 40% of Japan’s labor force. Women represented 68% of this contingent in 2019"
"One 47-year-old man confided that he’d spent 17 years holed up in his room at his parents’ place after graduating from college. Another, 39, told me he spent years moving from job to job and now lives in a homeless shelter."
"After graduating from high school, he became a recluse. Sometimes he would venture into downtown Shibuya at night to people-watch. “There was power in Shibuya with so many young people,” he says. “That gave me comfort.”"
“I didn’t want to deal with people ... I didn’t talk with anybody other than my family. I didn’t want to think about my circumstances. I lived one day at a time.”
"In between jobs, the son holed up in his room. His frustrated father lashed out at him: “Move out! Work! Don’t be lazy!” ... “I treated him terribly,” Kinjo says remorsefully. “Had I noticed earlier, maybe he wouldn’t have suffered.” "
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2020-japan-lost-generation/sidd
