Edogawa Ward in Tokyo to Use Metaverse Tech to Clear up ‘Hikikomori’ Drawback
February 21, 2023
Edogawa Ward in Tokyo plans to make use of metaverse tech to assist social recluses, also called “hikikomori,” start to combine with society once more. The ward will manage a sequence of hybrid (digital and in-person) conferences this 12 months with the target of reuniting folks with social reclusion issues and serving to them of their reintegration course of.
Edogawa Ward to Leverage the Metaverse in Hikikomori Reintegration Processes
Edogawa Ward, situated in Tokyo, announced that it’s going to provide a sequence of metaverse conferences as a part of the reintegration course of for social recluses within the space. The conferences will likely be held in hybrid type, with social recluses having the chance of attending in individual or on-line, permitting a protected haven for assembly and speaking about their widespread issues.
There will likely be six of those occasions in 2023, organized by the Kazoku Hikikomori Japan nonprofit, with a capability for as much as 80 members, 50 within the metaverse platform, and 30 within the designated venue. The conferences will likely be held in a metaverse area designed by Kazoku Hikikomori, with distant customers having the ability to protect their identities utilizing avatars if desired.
About this initiative, a ward officer defined:
We need to provide a spot the place they’d suppose ‘I need to be there with the others.’
The Hikikomori Difficulty
The social exclusion (or hikikomori) drawback in Japan is a situation that impacts some people, who seclude themselves from society and decline to have any interplay with others. This situation is estimated to have an effect on greater than 1 million Japanese, with specialists contemplating the quantity to be greater, nearer to the two million mark.
This situation could cause issues within the households of those people, who should present for them, inflicting financial pressure. The inclusion of metaverse-based methods in coping with this phenomenon might ostensibly assist a few of these people to no less than work together nearly with their friends.
Based on a 2021 survey, 9,096 residents had been hikikomori in Edogawa. On the attain of this motion and its significance, Edogawa Ward Mayor Takeshi Saito said:
We don’t suppose all the pieces will likely be solved simply because we provide a metaverse. It’ll in all probability be useful for some folks. We’re focusing on those that can’t go away their rooms and haven’t been interacting with different folks. We need to assist them take a step ahead.
One other initiative of this type, focusing on college absenteeism in Toda Metropolis, was announced in October, additionally utilizing metaverse tech to permit college students to roam digital campuses whereas getting ready to attend common courses finally.
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