This headline should have read: 2% of Japanese self-report living as recluses

And there is no link to the actual report, which I can't seem to find anywhere. I wanted to know if they had some definition or threshold of reclusiveness that was needed to be considered 'hikikomori', or if they just asked people if they self-identified as hikikomori with no definition.

In any public opinion survey, a response that is only 2% is nothing, it is outside of the margin of error.