Over 1 million people live in social isolation in Japan today, cut off from work, school and even family: 1.46 million people to be precise, or 2% of those aged 15 to 62, according to a 2023 Cabinet Office survey.

While hikikomori, the Japanese term for acute social withdrawal, often brings to mind young recluses in dark bedrooms, the reality is broader — and made even more urgent by the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on mental health, which we are still feeling today.

A significant proportion of hikikomori are in their 30s, 40s and even 50s, and their numbers are growing. Some of these middle-aged adults have been isolated for a decade or more, in part due to the progressive decline of Japan’s lifetime employment model. Many want to work, connect and rejoin society, but don’t know how to.