An alarming number of young people are cutting off contact with society and shutting themselves in their rooms for years on end. More than a few turn into violent tyrants at home.
"Hikikomori," or social withdrawal, is a condition that currently afflicts up to 1 million Japanese, according to a nationwide association for parents of hikikomori sufferers.
"It's a disease that tears families apart," said the Saitama-based group's founder, Masahisa Okuyama, 58, whose own son has suffered from hikikomori for nearly 10 years.