[The "forty-nine" and "seventeen" problems].
The single most common age of murderers in Japan is 49. Individuals aged between 45 and 54 are, however, likely to commit not offences but suicides comparing with other generations. One factor behind this phenomenon is the trend toward company downsizing, which is thought to affect the mental attitude of workers. This trend is destroying the Japanese lifetime employment system and undermining worker's loyalty to the company. On the other hand, in the broader category of felony crimes (assault, burglary, arson, murder), offenders aged 17 are the most common in Japan. This is thought to be partly due to the effect of so-called "school collapse" (school system failure) on the mental attitude of students. "School collapse" implies dysfunction of educational practice as a result of chattering, bullying and violence in the classroom. It is the reflection of students' dissatisfaction with the group-oriented school system. Therefore, students are unable to find any purposes in school and exhibit aggressive behaviours. In terms of mental health for both middle-age and teenage generations, it is necessary to devise new strategies whereby people can break away from the pressure of loyalty to the group. For both "normal" and "disabled" workers, rights of recuperations, adequate unemployment benefits policy, and support system for occupational change should be established. Simultaneously, for both "normal" and "disabled" students, reform of the school system under the concepts of diversity of education, rights of selection, and rights of refusal is urgently necessary. With respect to forensic psychiatry, without the provision of social supports, labeling of conduct disorder as well as other disorders should be avoided. In particular, instead of introducing security hospitals, drastic improvements of medical reformatories and medical prisons are necessary to provide adequate medical and social supports for offenders with psychiatric disorders.
Takaoka
Ken
K
Department of Psychopathology, Faculty of Medicine, Gifu University.
D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014478:Unemployment