New PM Takes Office & Mental Condition of Japan: Part II

As you already know, it has been two weeks since, Shinzo Abe, left his position of Prime Minister of Japan.
A day afterward he checked into the hospital for fatigue and insomnia, essentially "psychological exhaustion".

His resignation and subsequent treatment for stress-induced illness is only a drop in a big bucket of all of Japan facing the same pressures from work and daily life, even if it doesn't mean running a country and reading about your problems in the newspaper everyday.

There has been a rise in the trend of hikikomori, or Japanese who do not leave their homes, as well as the similar NEET, meaning Not in Employment Education or Training. Part of this problem, it is suggested, is a result of the demanding conditions of the workplace in Japan. Stress from entrance exams to college have also been attributed to this growing factor.

"That's my life -- fatigue and stress. All I have to look forward to is a beer at the end of the day," said Hiroyuki Okuda, an administrator at a Tokyo steel maker in an article written for the Mainichi Daily.

Naoki Otaka of the Academy of Counselors of Japan furthers this inference: "Part of [the stresses] is because hard work has long been seen as a virtue here, as has suffering in silence, and people often let the stress just build up."

Stress on students and workers is also said to be a result of repudiation from workers who don't conform to standards or the act of conforming to standards thereof.

Somewhere along the way my post got a little boring, so I'll end it here. ^_^;;

Here is a link to the article where I found a lot of my information.
For more information about "ostracism in the workplace", click here.
For an anime about hikikomori, see Welcome to the NHK.
How about that? All three of my last posts tied-in.