Shut in

The problem of hikikomori is well known as an issue affecting a significant number of younger people in Japan. Those people withdraw from society, retreat into their rooms and often remain there for months, if not years. The term 'hikikomori' has been used to describe this phenomenon which seems particularly to affect Japan. The word 'hikikomori' has now become a new entry in the latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English. The definition reads '(in Japan) the abnormal avoidance of social contact, typically by adolescent males'. Most people you speak to will know of or have heard of someone who is or whose family member is to some extent 'hikikomori'. Figures are hard to come by but it seems clear the issue affects a significant number of Japanese from their mid-late teens into their 20s or even older. How to deal with it is even more of a challenge. We know one missionary who has been receiving training in this area from a specialist but it takes a long time to be able to understand enough to be able to be of help to someone who is hikikomori. Is this a challenge and an opportunity for the church? Jesus came to reach and rescue people who were lost and without hope. It is a complex phenomenon but so many need help to find hope and direction for their lives.