Japan's teen hermits spread fear
"Saito's clinic, groups of patients meet twice a week. .... The theme of discussion last week was 'my favourite animal'. Of the dozen of so participants, one or two had clearly made good progress and were chatting away about dogs and birds. But many seemed to be far away. 'I like cockroaches,'said one gentle but shy man."
...
"Specialists say this is only the tip of the iceberg. Tamaki Saito, the psychiatrist who coined the term, estimates there are a million hikikomori cases. 'I think it is dangerous for Japanese society because such people never work or pay tax,' he said. 'We might be able to rescue some, but half a million will stay withdrawn from society for 20 or 30 years. We could end up supporting them for half a century.' "
Gokinosaurus: gokiburi = Japanese for "cockroach"(Ep. #7/#8)
