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Retreating Youth Become Japan's 'Lost Generation'

Author Michael Zielenziger is a visiting scholar at the Institute of East Asian Studies, U. C. Berkeley, and previously was the Tokyo-based bureau chief for Knight Ridder Newspapers.
Paula Bronstein
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Author Michael Zielenziger is a visiting scholar at the Institute of East Asian Studies, U. C. Berkeley, and previously was the Tokyo-based bureau chief for Knight Ridder Newspapers.

Many young people in Japan have become hermits -- retreating into worlds that consist of little more than their rooms. And that's difficult for families. Michele Norris talks with Michael Zielenziger, author of Shutting Out the Sun: How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation.

Zielenziger profiles a caste of Japanese youth called hikikomori, mostly young men who lock themselves away in their bedrooms, fearful of society's expectations. He also talks about Japan's aging working class and the tendency of young women to shun motherhood.

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.