JAPAN by Leanne Keenan

i.                 Country:

     Japan

ii.               Total Population:

    127,341,000

iii.             Population Demographics:

     Population of Men: 62,087,7311 (48.75%)

     Population of Women: 65,473,758 (51.41%)

     Population of Children (15 and younger): 16.33 million (12.8%)

Yamoto takes up 98.5% of the population. There is a Korean population of 1.5%, and there are other ethnicities that are a minimal part of the population.  99% of those who reside in Japan speak Japanese, and some also speak Hiragana, Kanji, or Katakana.

iv.             Estimated Number of People with Mental Illness:

     About 24% of the Japanese population suffers from some sort of mental illness

v.               Religion/Cultural Beliefs/Social Context:

      Japan isn’t an extremely religious culture, but it is important to many. The most common religion to practice is Shinto, along with Buddhism. Some also practice Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and Sikhism. Some are Christian, but it is rare.

 Although Japan isn’t an extremely religious place, there are many people who do not believe in, or support those with mental illness. A whopping 1 out of 5 people think about suicide, and 51 out of 100,000 people follow through. With a percentage that big, one would think that mental illness is talked about often in Japan, but it is not. In fact, a lot of people in Japan don’t believe in mental illness. The ones that do think that people who develop a mental illness has a “weak mind”, and that it is easy to recover from. Recently there has been more attention paid to mental illness, and there are many groups that protest about the desperate need for more mental health care in Japan.

vi.             Methods of Support for People with Mental Illness:

     Overall, there has been about $222 million spent trying to campaign for mental illness. People are now becoming aware that there is a great need for mental health support in Japan. Because mental illness hasn’t been taken seriously in the past, there are still many people with a negative outlook. It is difficult for many people to ask for help, because they haven’t been taken seriously in the past. There is progress being made in Japan though, and doctors are trying to be more open minded and understanding. When that happens, they have found that more people open up and ask for help if they suffer from a mental illness.

vii.           Personal Observations:

    It’s upsetting to see that Japan has an extremely high suicide rate, and yet there are minimal mental health services around. In just about every article I read it talked about how people who suffer from mental illness feel shameful. I personally couldn’t picture a doctor who would judge someone and laugh at them for having a mental illness. (Even though that probably happens in the U.S. also). Overall, it made me sad to read all of the negative stories about mental illness. But, on the plus side it is refreshing to know that the awareness of mental illness is growing. Slowly but surely people are getting the help they deserve.

viii.         References

Priestley, I. (2009, March). New Documentary Explores Taboo Subject of   Mental Illness in Japan. Retrieved from http://www.japantoday.com/category/arts-culture/view/new-documentary-explores-taboo-subject-of-mental-illness-in-japan

Japan-Population. Retrieved from http://countryeconomy.com/demography/population/japan

(2013, September). Japan Population 2013. Retrieved from http://www.worldpopulationstatistics.com/japan-population-2013/

(2014, May). Japan Child Population Hits Record Low. Retrieved from http://rt.com/news/156872-japan-children-population-decline/

(2013, September). Review of Mental Health Related Stigma in Japan. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pcn.12086/abstract