At the 118th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Psychiatry and Neurology Society held at the Fukuoka International Congress Center, Fukuoka City, from June 16th to 18th, Dr. Eriko Yamaguchi-Fukui gave a presentation on the MEICIS project, “Characteristics of Mental Health of Japanese Brazilian High School Students Living in Japan from the viewpoint of ethnic identity.” And, she received the Excellent Presentation Award for this presentation.
While aiming to build a comprehensive community care system for foreign residents as part of her MEICIS research activities, it is suggested that foreign residents in Japan may not be able to properly consult a medical institution when they have mental health problems. Therefore, Dr. Yamaguchi-Fukui conducted a survey on the relationship between ethnic identity and mental health of foreign residents whose roots are related to Japan in the Japanese-Brazilian community living of the Keihin and Tokai regions.
As results of the survey, it became clear that Japanese Brazilian residents have significantly lower mental health than Japanese living in the same area. So far, no previous research has been found such a comparison in the same area and this is a new finding. It was also shown that among Japanese Brazilians, those with a low sense of belonging to ethnic groups have a lower degree of mental health than those with a high sense of belonging. Based on these results, it is thought that providing care and support that takes ethnic attribution into consideration will help prevent mental health problems for international migrants, including Nikkei residents.
As an activity of MEICIS, we will continue to hold counseling sessions for Japanese Latin Americans in various places and promote the construction of supporting foreign residents in society.