To examine the clinical characteristics of methamphetamine (MAP) psychosis in Japan, we evaluated 104 patients with MAP psychosis (80 men and 24 women) admitted to the closed psychiatric units of Tokyo Metropolitan Matsuzawa Hospital between 1988 and 1991. There has recently been a steep increase in the number of admissions for MAP psychosis, reflecting the growth of the epidemic of MAP abuse in Japan. Although more than half of the patients were discharged within one month, 16 patients were hospitalized for more than 3 months. Most of the patients showed paranoid psychotic state similar to schizophrenia, consistent with previous reports. Despite the abstinence from MAP and antipsychotic medication, psychotic symptoms tended to persist in some of the patients. The etiological role of MAP psychosis in the development of long-lasting psychotic state was discussed.

Objectives The aim of this study was to compare attitudes toward medication and associated factors for patients with schizophrenia in Japan and China. Methods Age-group matched samples were drawn from outpatients in Tokyo (N = 76) and Beijing (N = 76) according to the same inclusion/exclusion criteria. Psychotropic prescription and attitudes toward medication were measured using Drug Attitude Inventory-30 (DAI-30) and an original questionnaire regarding beliefs about psychiatric medication. Stepwise regression analysis of the DAI-30 data was performed for each group. Results Japanese subjects were prescribed significantly larger amounts of antipsychotics. Polypharmacy of antipsychotics and concurrent use of anticholinergics, anxiolytics, or hypnotics were more frequently found among subjects in Tokyo than among those in Beijing. However, subjects in Tokyo and Beijing had similar subjective responses to medication, subjective evaluation of sideeffects, and complaints about overuse of psychotropics. Subjects in Tokyo complained less about physician's overreliance on medication and were less concerned about medication cost than those in Beijing. In Tokyo, longer duration of illness and lower subjective distress caused by side effects predicted a more positive subjective response, while female gender, younger age, and lower Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale score were independently correlated with a better subjective response in Beijing. Conclusions Subjective acceptance of multiple medications is greater for patients in Japan than those in China. Determinants of subjective response to medication varied between Japan and China.

This article describes the recent law reform on forensic mental health and its background in Japan, focusing on the enactment of the Medical Treatment and Supervision Act in 2005. The new system-under which a person who commits a serious criminal offence in a state of insanity or diminished responsibility shall be referred by the public prosecutor to the District Court-aims to provide intensive psychiatric treatment to offenders with mental disorders, attaching great importance to their reintegration into society. The court panel, which consists of a judge and a specially qualified psychiatrist, plays a key role in the treatment procedure. Upon the agreement of the two panel members, the panel delivers a verdict that takes into account the outcome of psychiatric evaluation; possible verdicts are inpatient treatment order, outpatient treatment order (mental health supervision), and no treatment order. Designated facilities are currently being established for inpatient and outpatient treatment. Referring to the published data on outcomes of enforcement, this article discusses particularities, current problems, and future prospects of the system, drawing comparisons between the German and Japanese systems.

Naturally induced possession trances have been observed in healthy people of many societies. The neurophysiological basis of this phenomenon remains unknown, however, because of the difficulty in accessing subjects in trances due to their sacred context. In the present study, we measured the plasma levels of several neuroactive substances from subjects exhibiting or lacking possession trance characteristics during Balinese dedicatory dramas under natural conditions. The trance group exhibited significant increases in plasma concentrations of noradrenaline, dopamine and beta-endorphin, compared with controls who performed the same actions as the trance group. The present finding suggests that catecholamines and opioid peptides are involved in possession trances.

The purpose of this study was to explore the association between psychosocial functioning of children treated for cancer and that of their parents. Factors associated with psychosocial functioning were also examined. The present study was a cross-sectional survey of 33 mothers and one father (mean age: 37.9), each of whom had a child that had been treated for cancer. The participants answered a package of questionnaires consisting of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the Parent Experience of Child Illness (PECI), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Information about the children’s illnesses was collected from medical records. The CBCL total problems T score was correlated with the parental IES-R total scores. Intensity of treatment independently predicted the variance of parental long-term uncertainty. In conclusion, psychosocial problems of children with cancer were associated with parental post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Provision of early, adequate support to parents who are vulnerable to PTSS will help not only the parents, but also their children with cancer.