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TACKLING JAPAN’S COMPLEX MENTAL HEALTH PUZZLE

TACKLING JAPAN’S COMPLEX MENTAL HEALTH PUZZLE

✦ My Body My Pilates is one organisation that supports mental health in Japan

Whereas there have been huge strides made in recent years in highlighting, understanding and tackling mental health issues, there are still many places where the topic is considered a stigma and those that suffer from it are very much marginalised.

Despite being such an advanced nation in so many respects, Japan is one such place.

According to the Japan Health Policy Now, although the number is trending downwards, Japan has the most people hospitalised in psychiatric wards on a per capita basis in the world. Shockingly, the number of people living with mental health issues in Japan is greater than the number of people who have been diagnosed with cancer, stroke, acute myocardial infarction, and diabetes combined.

Exhausted, stressed and lonely

Factors contributing to these staggering numbers include poor mental health, mental illness, and social and economic pressure and stress factors; Japan is renowned as a country often characterised by extremely hard work ethics, long hours and immense stress. The millions of white collar workers, known as “salary men”, who show overriding loyalty and commitment to the corporation within which they are employed are often overworked to the point of exhaustion, are stressed and very lonely.

Natural disasters such as the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, Japan’s property and stock market crash of the early 1990s, the global financial crisis of 2008 and the all-consuming COVID-19 pandemic of the last few years have also taken their toll. The latter derailed and deflated Japan’s plans for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which did go ahead but in a much more solemn manner. Unemployment also rose significantly due to COVID with an increase of 34.5% for women and 31.8% for men losing their jobs, according to statistics provided by the World Economic Forum.

Stigma

One major hurdle is the fact that mental health has long been regarded as a stigma in Japanese culture where its citizens are conditioned to believe that a mental health disorder is shameful and signifies a lack of willpower.

This oppressive stigma has resulted in many Japanese people not believing that mental illnesses require professional treatment with almost two-thirds of sufferers never seeking help from a health professional and therefore suffering in silence. This, sadly, undoubtedly contributes to the high number of suicides witnessed in Japan each year, amongst the highest in the world; in October 2020 alone, 2,100 suicide-related deaths were recorded.

Help is at hand...

However, sustained efforts are constantly being made to address mental health issues and reverse these alarming statistics and a growing number of support groups

are now at hand such as the NPO Bond Project which offers help to girls and women facing challenging problems.

Another group stepping up to face and alleviate the challenge of mental health is Tokyo-based My Body My Pilates who offer free or donation based pilates classes twice a month (the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month at 6pm Tokyo time) so that more people can benefit from pilates and achieve a healthier mental state. Subscribers to their 30 Day Pilates Challenge receive a daily email with an instructional video on how to carry out the practice safely and effectively. It means no matter where you are, you can benefit from the practice in a matter of minutes each day and make a start on the path to a healthier mind and body.

Ultimately, with the emergence of such support groups and a slow changing of attitudes and improved policy at government level, it is hoped Japan can continue positively on its ongoing journey to deal with the complexities of mental health and ensure its people are on track to be healthier and more content both in mind and body.

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