Strategy for Mental Health Japanese Style.

From the Daily Yomiuri.

“According to a survey by the Japanese ministry, only 13 of the 182 child-counseling centers nationwide have a child psychologist on staff.”

In the US there are apparently 6,000 specialists in Autism while in Japan there are 300.

I have a friend in Japan where I used to live for 3 years who has ADD. The only medication that’s legal for ADD in Japan is short acting Ritalin. I thought we were behind the US when it came to dealing with ADD, evidently we’re not the worst.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has set up a committee to consider how to take better care of children’s mental health. Hopefully they consider the needs of adults too.

I remember when I lived in Japan, I hardly ever saw any physically disabled people or people with Down’s syndrome around. They must have them hidden away from society.

Many Japanese are trained to point at and comment on anyone who is different. ie the “gaijin da” that foreigners get all the time. “look there’s a foreigner”. Once this happens several times a day every single day you go outside (I lived in the 5th largest city in Japan, not a hamlet) it can get on your nerves. It can get even worse when you have a Chinese Australian girlfriend, you get a lot of dirty looks. What are you doing with one of “our” women? A few thousand years ago Japan was the united states of Asia, people from different parts of Asia moved to Japan, and some Japanese think that some Asian people look like Japanese.

The strong social networks that Japanese society promotes are double edged swords. On one had you have a lot more support in a group in Japan compared to a similar group the west, and there are a lot more social groups and they have more people who feel like the belong to society which leads to less crime and other positive social goods. Even the non conformists have groups. One the other hand if you’re not it the group it can easily lead to discrimination.

I know of one English professor who also translated and interpreted Japanese professionally who had to make a reservation at hotels when he travelled under a Japanese name. That way when he showed up and saw that he was white, and said there’s no space he gave the Japanese name and got his room. Foreigners had trouble renting apartments and other problems.

I wonder how Japanese with ADD are treated there by the public and by the medical profession.

I was refused entrance to a Yakinikuya in Tokyo, a popular type of Japanese BBQ restaurant. I’m sure the customers were very amused to here the owner shouting “Gajin dame” No foreigner allowed and “nihon no tabemono wakarani” you don’t understand Japanese food, and me arguing with him back and forth in Japanese, with me clearly indicating in Japanese I did know Japanese food especially such basic food.

I was pretty angry but decided to leave when I realized that if he called the police I’m sure they wouldn’t have believed me over him and from what I’ve read, Japanese jails make Turkish jails look like palaces.

That being said many Japanese I met were very hospitable and warm hearted. I really had a good time there because I was never bored. There was always something new.

There is no exclusivity on good or evil in any race. We all have a bit of both in us.