自宅警備員[jitaku keibi’in]

October 7, 2008 at 2:44 pm (otaku word, slang)

 There are a couple of words to mean a person who has no job in spite of not being a student such as ニート(NEET: Not in Education, Employment, Training). I already introduced 引きこもり[hikikomori] here. But I sometimes come across some similar words to this kind of thing, and assume such people have become a serious matter. That is why this kind of word keeps coming up.

 Unlike 引きこもり or ニート, this word was born in 2ch. Surprisngly, 2ch bugs came up with this to claim themselves…that is 自宅警備員[jitaku keibi’in], or home security guard. As you know, people who dwell on 2ch are sitting at the desk and obssessed with the screen. So they sarcastically insist they are surveilling home. Their job is to keep their home safe, so they have to be at home. 自宅[jitaku] means home, and 警備員[keibi’in] means a security guard. Eventually it is equal to be a ニート…Havin said that, 警備員 sounds better than 引きこもり, no? ^^ It makes me laugh a bit. Come to think of it, jobless women(in other words, female NEET) can be called 家事手伝い[kaji tetsudai]. Ugh, I can’t put it into English. Housewife? Nah, they are not married. Not correct. Anyway, their job is to do household chores. But what if they don’t do it? 結局ニートじゃん！Know this is only for women. Jobless men at home end up being a ニート or プー太郎[pu-tarou].

 Comparing to above, 自宅警備員 still sounds okay(?). And when they get kicked out of home by parents[雇用主, employer], they recieve 自宅警備員解雇通知[jitaku keibi’in kaiko tsuuchi] to mean a dismissal notice of home security guard. They are sacked, so they have to leave home…and where are they going?

 Yes, they are headed to the internet cafe to stay. Taking a shower, grabbing a snack, and finding a day labor…they eventually stay at the internet cafe. From place to place, they are wandering…so they are called ネカフェ難民[nekafe nanmin] or an internet-cafe refugee. They don’t have a home, but wander from internet cafe to another. This is also a serious social matter.

 Remember Nagisa Kaworu in Evangelion said 帰る家があるのはいい事だよ[Having a home to go is a good thing]? Umm, come to think of it where is his “home”? OMG, could he be a ネカフェ難民? Just kidding.^^


  1. maakusutipen said,

    though ネカフェ難民 phenomenon is a serious problem in itself, Japan may have it better than other countries. In some countries one may not have a means for unemployed/ underemployed people who don’t have their own residences to stay in when night breaks. It is also fortunate for them to be able find day labour also.
    Well even if there are places to stay at, compared to the low rent of a place with a computer. Japan still has it better.

  2. Zankokuna NEET no Thesis « 散歩道- Perjalanan said,

    […] Zankokuna NEET no Thesis NEET (Not in Education Employment nor Training) adalah salah satu fenomena sosial yang melanda kaum muda di Jepang. Kerjaan mereka diam di rumah nyampah di forum 2ch main gem onlain atau kegiatan hikkikomori lain. Keuangan mereka biasanya mengandalkan orang tua. Seperti pemerintah Indonesia mereka juga membuat istilah untuk menyamarkan makna NEET yaitu menjaga rumah. […]

  3. 0ne said,


    家事手伝い = Domestic Helper / Servant

  4. usagijen said,

    I think at least once in my life I’d like to try out becoming a ネカフェ難民, especially when I decide to go to Japan and be a real cheapo haha 😛

  5. mochie said,

    Wah.. that is quite an upsetting social problem. Are there a lot of unemployed people in Japan?? In Australia, there are a lot of NEET as well because they know that the government here will give them money and support them. As for those who are kicked out of their homes, they live on the streets but there are also special hostels here for the homeless. A lot of religious groups also go around donating food, clothes and money to the homeless here (I have done it before when I was in high school) which I believe makes them even lazier. When I went around giving food to the homeless in high school (I was representing a charity) we stopped by a homeless hostel. They even had a television there and everyone was gathered around watching TV.

  6. bangin said,

    maaku: Internet cafe is becoming cheaper and more convinient here. You can even sleep on the nice bed with all the amenity. This might bring about more ネカフェ難民. Day labor is easy to find here, so eventually more and more ネカフェ難民. Umm, is this good?

    One: こんにちは＾＾ I heard you stayed in Tokyo a while ago. Did you see our cosplay?
    Servant? In other words, it’s シ者!

    usagijen: If you stay in Japan for three or four days, you wouldn’t feel bad to be a ネカフェ難民. Actually, I know some foreign travelers do so when they forgot to reserve a place to stay. When I drink too much, and miss the last train, I do so. 🙂

    mochie: Yes, even if they want to work, there are not enough jobs to cover. Some NEET want to get a job, but being a NEET might prevent them from getting a job. But this changes nothing. So eventually parents have to take care of them. Here some churches donate some food to the homeless, but I don’t think every church does so. I have seen something like a shelter where the homeless get together, take a shower, and get some food in American soap opera. But I am not sure there is something like this in Japan. Maybe there is, but not so enough to help all the homeless.

  7. JELEINEN said,


    The English work you’re looking for is ‘homemaker.’

  8. mochie said,

    bangin: There are beds at Net cafes in Japan?? I think for us over here, usually if we don’t want to go home because there is an event on the next day in the city we go to “overnight Lan” and stay at netcafe because it is cheap.

  9. Neohybrid_kai said,


    Yes, its because most people has negative image about NEET, and NEET usually don’t have much social skill to begin with, and that makes things worse when looking for a job. Also the problem is that amongst NEET even if one of them tried to find a job, there’s a small chance that the other would support him/her. Even if its not explicitly stated but when a NEET person has managed to get out from his hikki life, the other would look at him/her like some traitor. Its kind like a circle of evil, haha.

    I know about this because I used to be a NEET for almost a year (but not anymore now)

  10. bangin said,

    JELEINEN: Homemaker, okay. So does this cover only women like our 家事手伝い does so?

    mochie: Or a nice sofa, you can sleep at the cozy room. And it’s cheap. I guess those who want to line up at Comic Market very early might use it…

    Neohybrid_kai: Even though NEET wants to work, they don’t give a job to NEET. This changes nothing.

    We say 脱ニート[datsu NEET] to graduate from being a NEET.

  11. Fritzs said,

    The problem with NEETs is that they aren’t IMHO the problem, they are just one of it’s more visible manifestations… on could say, an indication, that something is not right.

  12. bangin said,

    Yes, it’s not right. But the worse the recession is, the more NEETs. This is not necessarily because of NEETs…

  13. Home security guard (自宅警備員) « Jared’s in Nakano said,

    […] My “chotto hen” (sort of strange) sensei Bangin taught me a useful word for someone who stays home too much glued to the internet: Home Security Guard (自宅警備員, jitaku keibi’in). Most of my classmates at the ceramic studio hadn’t heard it before. […]

  14. Así habló Frau Koujiro ~ Parte 2: Capítulo #6 Robotics;Notes | said,

    […] > No subestimes mi trabajo como guarda de la casa. / Meme original: 自宅警備員 (Fuente: Bangin). Lectura: jitaku […]

  15. hikayamasan353 said,

    Guys, it’s outdated and blatantly incorrect
    Jitaku Keibitai, or NEET Home Guards are now an international organization with strict rules and chain of command. They’re not just random hikkies. Firstly, to join them, you should be at least 14 years old. Second, to join, you should send an application to their headquarters as a recruit (ippan taiin), then after you got accepted, assemble your uniform and then send an application for being an operative (takugai haken). Wearing their uniform as cosplay while not being their member is a serious offense. In addition, once they reject you once, you cannot reapply at all. You can only wear a uniform at the events that your commander allows you, namely, the official events that are being visited by NEET. You can’t go to local airsoft arena in NEET uniform.
    Once you are kicked out of it, it’s permanent.

Leave a Reply


WordPress.com Logo


Google photo


Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: