Shin-gata utsu (a new type of depression) in Japan: Social and clinical implications of the emerging phenomenon

ABSTRACT

This article is aimed at introducing and examining recent controversies raised by mental health professionals in Japan concerning what they call shin-gata utsu (a new type of depression). While clinical depression has been a serious public health concern in Japan for several decades, a new type of patient, one whose characteristics and symptoms deviate from the conventional patient profile, is appearing, primarily in workplaces. In contrast to the typical Japanese depressive patients who are workaholics, self-blaming, and middle aged or older male workers, many shin-gata utsu patients are self-centered, eager to blame others and escape from work, and more likely to be younger women. There has also been much confusion among human resource management about how to understand shin-gata utsu: Is it a form of illness eligible for workers’ compensation or simply the problem of an immature, spoilt personality? While it has never been an official diagnostic category, the increasing use of this label is suggestive of the Japanese approach to mental disorders and potentially a fundamental change in the personality of the Japanese, which could originate from their family socialization pattern. The sociocultural backgrounds for this controversy will be explored, as well as what it could mean to Japanese society.

KEYWORDS:

• A new type
• depression
• diagnostic label
• human resource management
• Japanese society
• occupational health