Logical structure of acceptance and exclusion in the history of mental health and welfare

Abstract

Early traditional mental health policies in Japan did not protect the rights of patients with mental illnesses, with public safety prioritised over human rights. The situation has since improved, but these early perceptions have impacted on current mental health policies in Japan. Dr Minori Utsunomiya, Aichi Prefectural University, Japan, believes past policies are the root of many challenges facing people with mental illness and she is exploring Japan's complex history of mental health and psychiatric care to shed light on the correlation between past and present mental health policies. Key foci for Utsunomiya are the Psychiatric Custody Law of 1900, the Psychiatric Hospital Law of 1919 and the Mental Health Act of 1950 and she is exploring these laws from two perspectives: pre-World War II to post-war continuity/discontinuity and the structure of acceptance and exclusion for people with mental illnesses. As such, Utsunomiya embarked on an exploration of the process of the revision and abolition of laws and deliberation with respect to bills related to mental illness, investigated the roles and functions of public psychiatric hospitals and analysed the causal relationship between the revision of laws related to mental illness and social incident.