Our lawyers strive to offer services in English and support our clients through the stresses and strains of navigating the Japanese legal system. How do I choose a lawyer in Japan? If you are arrested in Japan, you will either be arrested on the spot in which case no warrant will be shown but the police must provide you an explanation...
Good news for non-Tokyoites: their network also has therapists based outside of Tokyo. JHI is a non-profit organization that helps locate English-speaking doctors for Japan’s international residents—and yes, they can also assist you in your mental health needs. Contact them if you need any assistance.
Dealing with one’s own mental incapacity, or that of a loved one, is often overwhelming, both emotionally and legally. Frazer Ryan’s mental health and elder law attorneys provide thoughtful and sensitive counsel to persons dealing with mental health issues and disorders and developmental disabilities.
Mental health stigma persists in Japan, so it’s no surprise to learn there is very little research and collected data about Japanese mental health statistics and best practices for the Japanese population living in or outside Japan. Most of the... Read More Donate Now Would you like to make regular donations?
Mental health treatment is made widely available in Japan, and for the most part, is covered by national health insurance. Meaning that you are only expected to pay 30% of the total cost. Unfortunately, counselling isn't so affordable as this isn't covered by your health insurance.
“In Japan, psychotherapy is usually administered by a psychiatrist or psychologist. When administered by a psychiatrist, it's covered by health insurance and the fee is set at 3,300 yen (5-29 minutes) or 4,000 yen (more than 30 minutes) by the government.
It has been previously reported that the proportion of those who received treatment among people who had mental disorders in Japan was less than half compared with other high-income countries, despite the fact that the Japanese national health insurance provides universal coverage and also patients are free to select ...
Conclusion: At present, Japan has more than 1,000 psychiatric hospitals with 300,000 psychiatric beds.
In Japanese society, the social expectation is that supervision or caring for people who have disorders associated with loss of mental and behavioural self-control will be borne by the patients or their families. Thus mental illness is not viewed as something that requires professional treatment.
The average cost of one counseling session in Japan with an English speaker and expertise in international clientele is around 8,000 to 15,000 yen. Please note that this varies by the psychologist or psychiatrist, but most clinics charge around this amount.
Many Japanese clients might ask the therapist to diagnose their problems, to tell them what their issues are, what is happening to them and what to do in certain situations. They need permission and approval for what they could do to make choices in their lives.
One other potential reason for Japan's low CMD prevalence is the stigma surrounding mental health in Japanese culture. Japanese society has conditioned its members to believe that a mental health disorder is shameful and signifies a lack of willpower.
Japan has a population of about 128 million, for whom there are around 13 000 psychiatrists, 13 000 clinical psychologists, 3600 psychiatric occupational therapists and 22 000 psychiatric social workers.
Yami-kawaii — "yami" meaning sick or alluding to the hospital — is a "sick-cute" aesthetic that has been bubbling out of Tokyo's streets and manifests through accessories such as fake guns, syringes, gas masks, pills, bandages and plasters.
In 2017, it was estimated that 4.193 million people in Japan were living with mental health issues and their number is expected to continue to increase.
Tokyo Counseling Services (TCS) All psychologists and other mental health professionals at the Shimokitazawa-based TCS are licensed. Counseling services are not only provided in English; some therapists offer counseling in French, German, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese, as well as Skype counseling.
Meanwhile, psychologists have a doctorate degree (or at least a master’s degree in some countries) in psychology and a license to practice in a certain state/region/country, and focus more on thoughts, emotions, and behavior. They treat mental illnesses through psychotherapy (also known as “counseling” or “talk therapy”).
Psychiatrists are medical doctors; they’ve gone to medical school and can thus prescribe medication. They can identify, diagnose, and assess mental disorders. Although they are trained in psychotherapy, they focus more on chemical imbalances in the brain and the physical symptoms and effects of mental illnesses. Japan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) covers psychiatric services.
IMHPJ is a nationwide association of mental health professionals that serve Japan’s international community. It’s a private, professional organization, and not one that gives out licenses or accreditation, but it has stringent requirements for would-be members, so you can be assured that their members have credibility.
JHI is a non-profit organization that helps locate English-speaking doctors for Japan’s international residents—and yes, they can also assist you in your mental health needs. Contact them if you need any assistance.
While these centers cannot prescribe medication or provide psychiatric services, they can refer you to psychiatrists if necessary.
For one, pyschologists and psychiatrists work closely together, but are not synonymous to each other. Psychiatrists are medical doctors; they’ve gone to medical school and can thus prescribe medication.
English Lawyers Japan is a legal resource website by lawyers for foreign residents in Japan facing legal issues and requiring legal advice on matters of divorce, traffic accidents, inheritance, wills, criminal defense, immigration, starting a company in Japan, employment law, and corporate law.
With Japan’s aging population and falling birth rate, revised immigration controls have been put in place in order to prevent a serious labor shortage...
If you are arrested in Japan, you will either be arrested on the spot in which case no warrant will be shown but the police must provide you an explanation...
Having handled an estimated 1200 criminal cases involving mental health, The Gage Law Firm has the experience and reputation in the legal community of providing effective and caring representation of the mentally ill who have been accused of committing crimes.
The Gage Law Firm can help seek and dovetail treatment in the community and often negotiate a more desirable outcome with prosecutors. Those who suffer from mental illness aren't criminals.
When a loved one experiences symptoms of a mental illness that have become so severe that their safety or the safety of others is a concern, it may require involuntary hospitalization. These events can be traumatizing not only to the person who is suffering from the illness, but also to those who care about him or her. Getting answers from the mental health professionals about a loved one in the hospital can be very difficult and requires maneuvering around various legal hurdles.
Getting answers from the mental health professionals about a loved one in the hospital can be very difficult and requires maneuvering around various legal hurdles. . It can be extremely frustrating as a family member to know that your loved one is ready to be discharged, but the hospital refuses to let him or her out.
Fees. Most, if not all, of the fees with respect to our mental health services are based on flat fee pricing. In other words, there is usually one set fee due up front for the entire case and everything involved in pursuing the respective goal of the client, with little exception.
Frazer Ryan’s mental health and elder law attorneys provide thoughtful and sensitive counsel to persons dealing with mental health issues and disorders and developmental disabilities. We can help you cut through the red tape, prepare required legal documents, and attend to the necessary proceedings.
In addition to working with individuals and families, our experienced disability lawyers also provide counsel and advocacy to private fiduciaries and institutional providers of human services to help them meet their legal and ethical responsibilities toward clients with disabilities.
Senior partner Josh Mozell leads Frazer Ryan's mental health practice, carrying on the 30-year tradition of Chick Arnold, who until his retirement in 2020 was a forceful legal advocate for the rights of the elderly and mentally ill.
A senior partner at Frazer Ryan Goldberg & Arnold and a Super Lawyers Rising Stars honoree, Josh Mozell practices in the areas of mental health law, estate planning, and contested probates, guardianships and conservatorships.
Senior partner and mental health attorney Josh Mozell's guest editorial calling for an end to the Arizona State Hospital's 55-bed mental health limit was published in the November 30, 2020, edition of the Arizona Capitol Times.
This list is provided for convenience and information purposes only; the Embassy will not be held responsible for the services provided by these references. However, if you have a negative experience with one of these lawyers, please advise us and the reference may be removed.
Masanari Nabekura Nabekura Law Office Cubic Matsudo Building 4th Floor 1834-15 Matsudo, Chiba, 271-0092 Tel: 047-710-3700 Fax: 047-710-3703 Areas of practice: Inheritance, divorce, criminal proceedings, administrative proceedings, corporate law, debt collection, bankruptcy procedures, drafting of affidavits Year admitted to bar: 2009
The Gunma Bar Association may provide names of competent attorneys upon request.
Hazuki Kobayashi Sumikawa Law Office Miyadai Building 2 nd Floor 6-2 Higashida-cho, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanawaga-ken, 210-0005 Tel: 044-276-8773 Fax: 044-276-8774 Areas of practice: Business cases, trademark registration in Japan, traffic accidents, family cases, criminal cases, juvenile crime, juvenile protection, multiple debts, bankruptcy, labour/employment issues. Year admitted to bar: 2012.
Makiko Mizuuchi Mimosa International Law Office Daini Masaki Building 303, 2-4-5 Namiki, Kawaguchi City, Saitama-ken, 332-0034 Tel: 048-271-5085 Fax: 048-271-5086 Areas of practice: Divorce, child custody, human rights, child abduction, Hague Convention issues, criminal cases, inheritance, labour relations. Year admitted to bar: 2005 Other languages: Chinese (beginner level).
The Yamanashi Bar Association may provide names of competent attorneys upon request.
When the client is admitted to the emergency room, the hospital has the authority to temporarily hold the client against their will for up to 72-hours (without a hearing) if the hospital reasonably believes the client’s mental health condition poses an imminent physical threat to themselves or others (suicidal, homicidal, etc.). In particularly severe situations that do not improve after 72 hours, the hospital (or someone else with standing) may petition the court to confine the person to a psychiatric facility for treatment for up to 6 months or a year (depending on the circumstances). Such cases are civil in nature, not criminal.
According to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. (43.8 million, or 18.5%) may experience mental illness in a given year. In addition, nearly 1 in 25 adults in the U.S. (9.8 million, or 4.0%) will experience a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.
People with psychiatric disabilities who receive inadequate care are vulnerable because they may face dire consequences in the community, such as loss of their property, livelihood, and freedom. For this reason, disabled litigants should be entitled to effective and compassionate legal assistance during times of crisis.
When a person is temporarily held in a hospital or committed against their will to a psychiatric facility, they are entitled to legal counsel to assist them with understanding their rights and to represent them in the proceedings. If the person cannot afford an attorney, the court will appoint an attorney from the Committee for Public Counsel Services to represent them. That’s me.
Is it really unreasonable for a patient to fear that a corporate hospital might unwittingly enroll them in a dangerous clinical trial without their consent or knowledge? Committed or not, it would be unusual for anyone not to be afraid if a hospital provider (who doesn’t know them) were trying to get a court order to force them to take medications with horrifying side effects that may alter or harm their body .
Persons who are mentally ill and dangerously symptomatic need to be seen by compassionate psychiatric professionals, but there just aren’t enough well trained doctors available to address this critical need. Even so, a diagnosis can become a weapon of discrimination that is used to keep mentally ill people separate from their communities and dependent on pharmaceuticals—even when it is debatable whether the drug is effective at improving the way the patient feels, and even when the patient the might be happier to have a bag of groceries instead of those expensive drugs. A client’s crisis will often play out in the context of irregular business hours- nights, weekends, or on holidays when their regular doctor’s offices are closed. For this reason, clients who cannot find or afford care run the risk that a brush with authorities could cause them to be locked up like criminals and denied care.
Regardless, it’s not my client’s fault that they are sick. If they had the flu or a broken leg, you might feel sorry for them, but people who are acutely mentally ill rarely get the empathy and sympathy they deserve.
The claimant filed for disability based on bipolar disorder and compulsive obsessive disorder (OCD). The SSA sent the claimant to a psychiatric CE who interviewed the claimant and then prepared a mental RFC, which supported a finding of not-disabled. After reviewing the mental RFC against the claimant's medical records, the claimant's attorney noted several statements by the claimant's treating psychiatrist that described the claimant as "combative." The RFC prepared by the SSA's doctor did not reflect these statements. The attorney then obtained a letter from the claimant's past employer that stated the claimant had occasionally demonstrated "combative" and hostile behavior. The attorney used these statements to discredit the CE's opinion and argue that the claimant's mental illness significantly impaired his ability to work with other employees and the public, and to interact with his superiors.
Depression and anxiety are often the main reason for, or a part of, a person's disability claim; however, these conditions can be difficult to prove. This is because depression and anxiety are largely based on subjective evidence. Subjective evidence is based on how the individual experiences the illness. On the other hand, physical medical conditions can usually be diagnosed and documented with objective evidence such as lab tests or x-rays. This is why it can be harder to prove that a claimant's mental illness is so severe that he or she is unable to work.
Even if your mental condition doesn't meet a listing, legal professionals are skilled at using other strategies to help you win. For example, if a person suffers from a physical disability in addition to anxiety and depression, the SSA must consider the combined effect of these impairments on a person's ability to work. Legal professionals are skilled at how to use a person's multiple conditions to help win a claim for disability.
The doctor (called the consultative examiner, or CE) will then prepare your mental RFC using both the results of the interview and the medical evidence in your file.
Social Security's Listing of Impairments outlines certain medical conditions that, if their requirements are fully met, will result in an automatic approval of benefits. These conditions are called listings. The Listing of Impairments includes numerous mental conditions such as:
And if the SSA's mental RFC is unfavorable (which they frequently are), your representative will work to identify areas where the CE's opinion can be discredited. This is vital because administrative law judges (who conduct disability hearings) rely heavily on a CE's opinion. Here is an example.
The SSA refers to an intellectual disability as intellectual disorder. Intellectual disorder is one of the medical conditions outlined in the SSA's listings. This means that the SSA will automatically award benefits to a claimant who meets all of the listing's requirements.