Shutting Themselves In Nineteen-year-old Dai Hasebe has lived as a hikikomori or shut-in since he was 11 years old, rarely leaving his family’s Tokyo apartment. Like other hikikomori, he does not attend school or hold a job. Although hikikomori has some features in common with social anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, the specific constellation of symptoms appears to be unique to Japanese culture.

Stuart Isett/Polaris Images