Edogawa Ward in Tokyo plans to use metaverse technology to help social recluses, also known as “hikikomori”, begin to integrate back into society. The neighborhood will organize this year a series of hybrid meetings (virtual and face-to-face) with the aim of bringing together people with problems of social confinement and helping them in their reintegration process.
Edogawa Ward will take advantage of the metaverse in the reintegration processes of Hikikomori
The Edogawa district, located in Tokyo, Announced which will offer a series of metaverse encounters as part of the reintegration process for social inmates in the area. The meetings will be held in a hybrid fashion, with social inmates having the opportunity to attend in person or online, allowing for a safe haven to meet and discuss their common issues.
There will be six of these events in 2023, organized by the non-profit organization Kazoku Hikikomori Japan, with capacity for up to 80 participants, 50 on the metaverse platform and 30 at the designated location. Meetings will take place in a metaverse space designed by Kazoku Hikikomori, and remote users will be able to protect their identities using avatars if they wish.
Regarding this initiative, a neighborhood officer explained:
We want to offer a place where they can think ‘I want to be there with the others’.
Hikikomori’s problem
The problem of social exclusion (or hikikomori) in Japan is a condition that affects some people, who isolate themselves from society and refuse to interact with others. This condition is My dear to affect more than 1 million Japanese, with experts considering the number to be higher, closer to the 2 million mark.
This condition can cause problems in the families of these individuals, who must support them, causing economic stress. The inclusion of metaverse-based techniques to deal with this phenomenon could apparently help some of these people to at least interact virtually with their peers.
According to a 2021 survey, 9,096 residents were hikikomori in Edogawa. On the scope of this action and its importance, Edogawa District Mayor Takeshi Saito stated:
We don’t think everything is solved just because we offer a metaverse. It will probably be useful for some people. We are targeting those who are unable to leave their rooms and have not been interacting with other people. We want to help them take a step forward.
Another such initiative, targeting truancy in Toda City, was announced in October, which also uses metaverse technology to allow students to roam virtual campuses as they prepare to eventually attend regular classes.
What do you think about using metaverse technology to help solve the problem of social seclusion? Tell us in the comment section below.
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