youth also have to face a very difficult job market in japan, often finding only part-time employment and ending up as freeters with little income, unable to start a family. another source of pressure is from their co-students, who may harass and bully (ijime) some students for a variety of reasons, including physical appearance, wealth, or educational or athletic performance. refusal to participate in society makes hikikomori an extreme subset of a much larger group of younger japanese that includes freeters. impact japanese financial burden some organizations, such as the non-profit japanese organization npo lila have been trying to combat the financial burden the hikikomori phenomenon has had on japan's economy. the japanese cd and dvd producer avex group produces dvds of live-action women staring into a camera to help hikikomori learn to cope with eye contact and long spans of human interaction. the goal is to ultimately help hikikomori reintegrate into society by personal choice, thereby realizing an economic contribution and reducing the financial burden on parents or guardians. "80–50 problem" the "80–50 problem" refers to hikikomori children from earlier days now entering their 50s, as their parents on whom they rely, enter their 80s. it was first described in japanese publications and media in the late 2010s. in 2019, japanese psychiatrist tamaki saitō held a press briefing at the foreign press center japan on the subject of hikikomori. in view of their rising age, he recommended practical advice to parents with older hikikomori, such as drawing up a lifetime financial plan for them, so they will be able to get by after the parents are gone. he also recommended that parents should not fear embarrassment or be concerned about appearances as they look at the options, including disability pensions or other forms of public assistance for their children. tamaki emphasized the urgency and necessity for families in these situations to plan ahead; the japanese government failed to see the urgency of the problem and demonstrated no motion toward developing substantive policies or systems like special safety nets related to the ageing group of hikikomori. treatment programs when it comes to psychosocial support, it is hard for therapists to attain direct access to hikikomori; research to find different and effective treatment plans to aid hikikomori has been ongoing. one such treatment plan is focused on the families of hikikomori. such focus primarily includes educational intervention programs (e.g. lectures, role-play, etc.) that are geared towards reducing any averse stigma that family members have towards psychiatric disorders like hikikomori. these educational programs are derived from other established family support programs, specifically mental health first aid (mhfa) and community reinforcement and family training (craft). craft specifically trains family members to express positive and functional communication, whereas mhfa provides skills to support hikikomori with depression/suicidal like behaviour. studies so far that have modified the family unit's behavioral response to a hikikomori has yielded positive results, indicating that family behavior is essential for recovery, however further research is still needed. although there has been a primary emphasis on educating family members, there are also therapy programs for the hikikomori themselves to participate in, like exercise therapy. the individual psychotherapy methods that are being stressed in current research are primarily directed towards cultivating self-confidence within the hikikomori. however, studies have delineated that efficacious treatment of hikikomori requires a multifaceted approach rather than the utilization of one individual approach, such as individual psychotherapy or family therapy. covid-19 pandemic impact based on prior outbreaks (e.g. sars, mers, etc.), studies have shown that due to increased loneliness, quarantined individuals have heightened stress-related mental disturbances. considering that political, social, and/or economical challenges already bring people to express hikikomori-like behavior, researchers theorize that since all the aforementioned factors are by-products of a pandemic, a hikikomori phenomenon may become more common in a post-pandemic world. in fact, people who do experience mental disturbances in japan generally view seeking the help of a psychiatrist as shameful or a reason for them to be socially shunned. experts predict an increase in focus on issues such as the mental health problems now affecting youth, and specifically through effective telemedicine services to either the affected individual and/or their respective family unit. furthermore, with hikikomori becoming more prevalent amid a pandemic, experts theorize that it will bring out more empathy and constructive attention towards the issue.