In August 2002 the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology decided to rename the Japanese expression for schizophrenia from Sêshin Bunretsu Byô to Tôgô Shicchô Shô. Currently the psychiatric classification systems ICD-10 and DSM-IV are under revision. Against this background the Japanese process of renaming a psychiatric disorder is of high interest as far as the clinical, social and cultural implications of the new name are concerned.The authors give an overview of the Japanese process of renaming schizophrenia. Its background and realization are explained and the expectations of Japanese physicians, patients and their families related to the new name are analysed. Furthermore, its effects are evaluated. The aim of the paper is to clarify in how far the Japanese example may serve as a model for evaluating the possible implications that a renaming or nosological redefinition of schizophrenia might have in the course of the revision process of ICD 10 and DSM IV.

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This paper analyzes the importance of the German language and German culture and institutional development of urology in Japan in the early 20th century, starting from the development of the medical school for Japanese in Germany and their function in the process of modernization of the Meiji period (1868-1912). Examples of bi-directional German-Japanese relations in medicine, which also included an integrated knowledge transfer, are shown. The study is based mainly on Japanese and German sources about Japanese physicians in Germany as well as contemporary publications in German and international medical journals. Methodologically, the article combines quantitative analysis with individual biographical aspects.

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