I've lived 2 years as a hikki and 15 years as a neet (worked very little, mostly freelancing and various expedients). I always wondered how it happened, and in the end I think that while some thing were out of society's control, the italian society is based too much on people being "perfect". It's not a society where one can make mistakes or be different, these things are not allowed both by the State and a good number of people. And I'm not talking of mistakes like shooting heroin, but even dropping out of college, getting some bureaucracy wrong, etc

It wouldn't surprise me if japan was similar.