Apr 26, 2020 (Kyodo) - A month at home in isolation may seem like an eternity for those unaccustomed to a lack of person-to-person contact, but the experiences of Japan's large numbers of "hikikomori," or social recluses, may offer some hints on how to stay sane during the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan's health ministry defines hikikomori as people who have remained isolated at home for at least six consecutive months, not going to school or work and not interacting with people outside their family. According to government studies, there are an estimated 1 million or more hikikomori in Japan.
Although people have started to use the term more loosely to describe themselves hunkering down at home to aid in stemming the spread of COVID-19, most social recluses spend years, sometimes decades, in isolation.
Nito Souji, who has been a hikikomori for more than 10 years, stresses the importance of keeping focused on the big picture and taking each day as it comes.
"I became a hikikomori with the objective of living everyday doing only things that are worthwhile, so for me the past 10 years have been far more pleasant than working outside," he said.
Unable to land a good job after graduating from university in Tokyo or realize his dream of becoming a novelist, Nito returned to his hometown to practice drawing in the hopes of becoming a creator of "dojinshi," or self-published comics and other works. He had initially only planned to remain a hikikomori for three years, or until he could support himself.
"I had no friends in my hometown and felt rushed to become financially independent as soon as possible, feeling ashamed to go outside. So I became a hikikomori," he said, now living alone in his aunt's apartment in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture.
Nito's dream of becoming self-sufficient through his own creations eventually spurred him to learn English and game development from 2015, where he has devoted his efforts for the past five years. Now with fluent English skills and his first original game set to launch on Steam, a video game digital distribution service for independent developers, his hard work appears to have paid off.
"In the last 10 years, I was able to create whatever I wanted to create, so even if there were struggles, I enjoyed it," he said.
Pull Stay, which is a literal English translation of "hikikomori," is a game inspired by Nito's experiences as a shut-in and features a protagonist modeled after himself.
