The Asian perspective

Abstract

The 1990s saw an inexorable wave of globalization. This came as a massive jolt to the culture of Japan, which until then had been in a state of balance and stability. However, unlike the West, in Japan this economic globalization is not a manifestation born of individualistic value systems and socioeconomic systems that had previously been in place. The spirit that was imported together with economic globalization was not mature individualism. At the risk of overstating the case, Japan went too far in ripping apart the complex, intricate interpersonal relations that had been in place and moving toward the individualism.

I will explain that the relationship between culture and the mind takes the form of a cooperative organization. The relationship between culture and the brain therefore also takes the form of a cooperative organization. Culture has a top-down influence even on simple visual perception.

I will state that the phenomenon of the depressive state generally known as “modern depression” occurring in epidemic proportions can be explained in terms of a loss of etiquette due to cultural intermingling as well as cultural affordance. Public opinion tends toward the argument of whether or not those who have sunk into this depressive state simply want to slack off. However, from the point of view of psychiatry, it is more important to consider the fact that while manifestations and popular names may differ, mental disorders will continue to develop in the future, regardless of the era, and we need to cultivate a better understanding of their structure. The essential challenge in this respect is the merging of cultural psychology and cultural neuroscience.

Disclosure of interest

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.