What do Japan’s hikikomori reveal about our lonely world?
Unemployed and isolated, the residents of a hikikomori rehab centre hold up a mirror to a society that’s failing them
by Alain Julian
Alain Julian is a cultural anthropologist and philosopher exploring isolation, meaning, and modernity, with a special focus on Japanese culture and the phenomenon of hikikomori. He lives in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Written by Alain Julian