The Hikikomori And How Are They Pathologised In Popular Japanese Media

2) Who are the hikikomori and how are they pathologised in popular Japanese media?

With Web 3.0, the binary of techno-Orientalism that separates the human body from technology – the “Other” – becomes dismantled when the self is immersed in ‘lifestream’ technologies such as Instagram and Snapchat. This online environment allows for post-humanism via the cyber-self. Rosemary Overell describes the cyber-self as a post-human body that is “leaky and porous. It is unbounded by flesh and dethrones liberal humanist discourse by decentralising the human subjectivity” (2015, Lecture 3A). The cyber-self’s original body becomes data, which elicits a desire/threat tension due to the uncanny valley it creates (Overell 2015, 3A). By interrupting the binaries

Women’s bodies are already constituted as open and vulnerable, so the porousness of the post-human body further positions them as the pathological user. This porousness can be seen as emasculating for men, as they are deemed “nerds” for exhibiting fannish, consumerist behaviour – typically seen as a feminised attitude. Additionally, male post-human bodies also categorises them as “the aggressor” who is “terrifying and dangerous” (Overell 2015, Lecture

Andy Furlong describes hikikomoris as “a group of young people who have withdrawn from social life and have had no relationships outside of the family for a period in excess of six months. Hikikomoris do not work or participate in any form of education and frequently remain in their homes for protracted periods of time: sometimes for several years” (2008, p.309). Initially linked to “severe cases of school-refusal” and “depression or other identifiable psycho-social disorders,” the hikikomori phenomenon can also be tied to a person’s inability to conform to the education system ¬– one that prepares them for a fast-paced workforce, influenced heavily by the country’s economic climate (Furlong 2015, p. 314). Their situation can also be fuelled by the Confucian principles dominant within the Japanese family structure, as parents may feel “inclined to overprotect an offspring who is troubled or encountering difficulties” (Furlong 2015, p.