Adult selective mutism and Hikikomori in Japan

Diamond Online, a Japanese business website, published articles about adult selective mutism with Hikikomori. Diamond Online publishes business articles as well as health ones.

First article [May 18, 2012]
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Second article [June 28, 2012]
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Third article [July 26, 2012]
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Hikikomori is a Japanese term that means long term social withdrawal typically by adolescent and adult males. Usually the concept of Hikikomori excludes symptoms of schizophrenia. Today hundreds and thousands of Japanese people are considered to withdraw from society.

All articles above are interviews with members of Association of Selective Mutism in Japan who experienced selective mutism. ASMJ is one of the major selective mutism support group in Japan, which, in my view, emphasizes adult selective mutism.

We can find many Japanese Hikikomori people who really suffer(ed) or seem(ed) to suffer from selective mutism in academic literature, books, on Internet websites, etc. But it is not clear how many people suffer from such difficulties.

According to a study by Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, out of 149 Hikikomori cases which visited 5 Mental Health and Welfare Centers and received diagnoses of mental ilnesses, one case was diagnosed as selective mutism. But it is not clear whether about 0.67(1/149) percent of Hikikomori people have selective mutism because most Hikikomori people do not visit Mental Health and Welfare Center.

Little is known for certain about Hikikomori people with selective mutism. Most writings are their personal experiences or case study. Diamond Online's article is no exception.

Children with SM in evacuation centers

Great earthquake and tsunami hit north-east Japan in March 2011, and myriad of people forced to live in evacuation centers. Evacuees must have included children with selective mutism. How did they spend their daily time?


Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder characterized by persistent failure to speak in unfamiliar social settings and to unfamiliar people. Typically they are children and can not utter words at schools although they speak normally at their homes.

Evacuation centers were unfamiliar settings for selectively mute children. A typical evacuation center was set up at a gymnasium or a community center. In many cases there were cubicles that separate living space. But  such cubicles were not necessarily placed. So, many selectively mute children must have been surrounded with unfamiliar people.

Images of evacuation centers in Japan
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On the other hand, in many cases, children in evacuation centers lived with their families without cubicles. I suppose they spent a lot of their time close to their families. In other words, they were together with their familiar people.

So, how did the environment affect the children? It is not clear, because nobody researches it.
I suppose one possibility is that they were mute all day long because they were surrounded with unfamiliar people. If so, I feel a pang of sympathy for them. Another possibility is that they spoke freely because they were always with their families. A third possibility is the middle of the first and second possibility. In other words, they spoke a little.

I hope such complex environment helps children to desensitize unfamiliar social setting and people.