Mental health in Japan is sorta a weird topic, honestly. For the longest time, people just didn’t talk about it. Like, saying you felt depressed or anxious was kind of seen as weak, or something to be embarrassed about. But lately, I’ve been noticing more conversations about it, especially since the pandemic.

Some friends online who live there told me there are more hotlines and clinics now, and even schools are starting to talk about mental health a bit. Japan’s government says they want to make it easier for people to get help, but from what I’ve heard, a lot of people still don’t wanna admit if they’re struggling. There’s still a lot of pressure to act like everything’s fine. One person told me their school counselor didn’t really know what to say when they asked for help, which is kinda sad.

Overall, things are improving really slowly, but it’s still super hard for a lot of people, especially older folks, to reach out. If Japan keeps pushing for more awareness and normalizing getting help, maybe things will get way better for everyone.