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Although rare in the west, in Japan and in some other advanced countries on the Asian-Pacific rim, there is a popular perception that there has been a significant increase in the numbers of young people who withdraw socially for protracted periods of time (referred to by the Japanese term 'hikikomori').This paper describes the hikikomori phenomenon in Japan, considers evidence relating to its prevalence and examines views about the causes. I argue that the tendency to think of hikikomori as a homogeneous group characterised by psychological malaise is misleading and that withdrawal and disengagement can also be linked to changing opportunity structures. The collapse of the primary labour market for young people and the growing prevalence of a precarious secondary sector has led to a situation in which traditional and deep-rooted norms are undermined and young people forced to find new ways of navigating transitions within a highly pressured and rigid system. Under these circumstances, acute withdrawal often represents an anomic response to a situation where tradition no longer provides adequate clues to appropriate behaviour rather than as a malaise reducible to individual psychologies.

This article explores the changing relationship between the ‘transitions’ and ‘cultural’ perspectives in youth studies. Changes in the relationship between the two approaches are currently being driven by shifting theoretical paradigms that place a greater weight on reflexive life management, thereby making it more difficult to maintain a theoretical distinction between structural and cultural analysis. Indeed, we argue that relationships between the two approaches are showing signs of convergence, partly as a consequence of the emergence of new ways of managing life contexts which frequently involve the blending of contexts, the search for new meanings and a changing sense of self in time. We trace the trends in the relationship between the ‘transitions’ and ‘cultural’ perspectives against the backdrop of changing opportunity structures. Focusing on contemporary contexts, we explore some of the ways in which recent socio-economic changes challenge traditional ways of interpreting subjectivities. We conclude by exploring the ways in which the sociology of youth can move forward using a social generation approach.

Concern with youth unemployment has been replaced with a focus on those not in education, in employment, or in training (NEET). With current levels of youth unemployment low, this emphasis helps remind us that an increase in employment levels is not necessarily accompanied by a reduction in vulnerability. While NEET can be used as a concept for representing problematic transitions, it is an ill-considered concept that places an undue and often misleading emphasis on voluntarism. Drawing on the Scottish School Leavers Survey, the article explores the policy implications of different definitions of NEET, highlights its prevalence, and examines the characteristics of those who are NEET. It is argued that to represent vulnerable youth effectively we must either use a set of definitions that are narrower than that represented by NEET, or adopt a much broader definition that provides a basis for more far-reaching interventions.

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