Psychiatrist: People Who Don’t Consume are Schizophrenic
- Categories: Japan, News
- Date: May 3, 2010 04:31 JST
- Tags: Bizarre, Business, Fashion, Marketing, Mass Media, Medical, Mental Illness
The Japanese media have increasingly been raising concerns that Japan’s younger generations are no longer the bastions of mindless consumer capitalism they once were, with potentially dire consequences for the nation’s economy; a psychiatrist has even gone so far as to say this is a result of mass schizophrenia.
Psychiatrist Hideki Wada, known for a number of books and television appearances as well as some academic publications, claims the drop in consumption is not tied to anything so mundane as Japan’s long-running economic slump, but is instead a result of mental illness.
When asked what he considers to be the cause of the so-called “consumption collapse” amongst Japanese young people, he claims that it is an “illness” which can be explained through clinical schizophrenia and depression, which he theorises as being endemic amongst Japanese.
Explaining this apparently completely unsubstantiated claim, he theorises that a loss of individuality caused by schizophrenia contributes to making people more susceptible to group trends, and that as a result when young people see others refraining from consumption they follow this trend (he does not approach the issue of why people might be consuming less in the first place).
As a countermeasure he suggests doubling income taxes for workers and then allowing them to claim general consumption as expenses, in order to force people to buy rather than foolishly save their money – “if they don’t spend their money the government will take it from them, so it’ll be best for them to spend it all.”
He also proposes education for recalcitrant consumers – “Previously we taught that saving was a virtue, but we should be teaching that consumption is a virtue instead. We should teach that if people don’t spend, the country will gradually decline.”
For a psychiatrist to abuse the definition of a serious mental illness by applying it wholesale to an entire generation on the grounds that they do not feel the need to own cars or buy Louis Vuitton bags seems particularly grotesque, though at least he stops short of proposing compulsory medication.
Most actual young Japanese can easily propose a plausible alternative explanation: “because we have no money,” though unfortunately the Japanese mass media seem resolutely intent on ignoring such an obvious explanation.
| 
To Love-Ru Darkness Tentacle Troubles Abound
Mangaka Celebrate Twintails Day
Hoppa Hentai Vaginar Virgin Red Sentai Parody Onahole
Taimanin Yukikaze “Lowest of the Low!”
Yandere Simulator Gets Personal
Naruto SUN Storm 4 OP Endlessly Energetic
Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut Hardly Draconic
Splatoon Squid Sisters Invade NicoNico Tokaigi 2016
Top 9 Anime of 2015, According to IGN
Rena Momozono’s Hot Hardcore F***ing Eloquently Titled
Rance Hikari o Motomete Battles Hard
Final Fantasy XV “Might As Well Be An FPS”
Dimension W Spreads It Open
Okasare Hero Strategically Sexy
Studio FOW Alice H-Short “Truly Mad!”
Uppers PV “All About The JKs!”
Danny DeVito Desired For Great Detective Pikachu
Kantai Collection Movie PV Bright & Cheery
Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Story Trailer Rather Redundant
Slimy Yuusha Marudea Figure
Alluring Ahri Cosplay Magically Charming
Tsukihi Araragi BDSM Ero-Cosplay by Komugi Platinum Sexy
Goddess of Twitter “Pink & Perky!”
Serene Horo Cosplay Pure Gold
Iona Ero-Cosplay by Komugi Taking on Water
Cute Kashima Cosplay Full of Elegance
Umaru Ero-Cosplay by Asami Hamsterific
Goddess of 2ch: “Pink & Soft All The Way!”
Kuroneko Cosplay by Mikehouse Full of Life
Busty Hotaru Cosplay Delightfully Delectable
Well, rather than vilifying what some of us perceive to be "capitalism" (this dubiously financed corporatism being quite the opposite), we should keep in mind that the root of the problem is Japan's monetary system itself. It's the same system everywhere though, with local and regional flavors that hardly succeed at masking the taste of national insolvency.
It is not merely consumption which has bloated into excess here, but production as well. It depends on the country in question as to what side of the coin the excess falls on, but the worldwide result is a mindless waste of natural resources. Any economy dependent on interest-bearing debt to have money in circulation will always need to grow exponentially until it collapses -- Mathematics 101.
No one should really be surprised at this quack doctor postulating such an absurd suggestion. The demand for never-ending economic growth imposed by the global bond market influences everyone's thinking. How many of us, during childhood, have heard the following:
"Sorry son, but daddy has to work again tonight. I promise that I'll take you to that ballgame next time."
Too many.
This is why I'm glad I live in America, where our economy is booming and we have geniuses like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh to guide us. All we need is another old, rich, fat, mentally ill white guy in office and we're all good.
Oh wait...
There are psychiatrist in Japan? This is news!!
so this means otaku are not schizophrenic since they spend like crazy on anything they like
This psychiatrist should lose all credibility for this idiotic assessment.
This guy just trolled Japan.
Reading that was a pretty Orwellian experience. For this doctor, Big Brother isn't the government, it's big business! That stuff about saving money being bad & foolish seems like a perfect example of Orwell's black/white: where a concept is held to be its opposite.
A culture based on shopping is bullshit, anyway.
Marx had us pegged 150 years ago.
As opposed to what other type of culture? One in which the serfs ceaselessly work like animals only to surrender their earned gains to a small group of parasitic elites? What's the difference exactly?
Both systems are the same, and they're ruled by the same masters.
>“Previously we taught that saving was a virtue, but we should be teaching that consumption is a virtue instead. We should teach that if people don’t spend, the country will gradually decline.”
Sounds like a very roundabout way to get the economy out of this slump.
The idea perpetual economy growth is impossible. There are limited resources on this planet. Eventually we will run out and the cycle will finally collapse under natural law.
This is just Japan course correcting itself. It's the same thing with low birth rates. They are thinning the heard of humans in their cramped island.
I really feel like smacking this psychiatrist with a dictionary, maybe the trauma will a reset his brain.(Even if it doesn't it will still make me feel better.)
Hideki Wada you realize you just enforce the Xenophobic sterotype on your country men good job.
i do agree with the lose of individuality claim...not that it has anything to do with a mental illness...especially one was well documented as schizophrenia...
There goes all his credibility. Modern consumerism is engineered to transfer the riches to the hands of a few. Eternal/infinite economic growth is but impossible, the current economics models are screwed anyway.
"We should teach that if people don’t HAVE CHILDREN, the country will gradually decline."
fix'd
That in itself is a vicious problem, people who don't have children cause prices to go up cause theres less money being spent, causing people not to be able to afford living expenses much less having children. Causing a never-ending problem. This problem is only going to get worse, and not just in Japan. The whole world will probably end up like this soon.
Trying to make them spend more by lowering their self-esteem isn't going to help one bit.
damm i don't consume i must be scitzo D:, *goes to psychiatrist for mind altering pills*
What you need to get by for a month in the Philippines:
desc: male, single, not in a relationship, working
1. 4 boxes of juice
2. 4 boxes of milk
3. 500g of pork
4. 500g of chicken
5. 2kg of rice
6. 500g of fish
7. 500g of beef
8. 50g of tomatoes
9. 500g of any vegetables
10. 500g of potatoes
11. 4 rolls of tissue
12. 1 bottle of alcohol
13. 1 bag of cotton
14. 4 bags of potato chips
15. 5gal of water
........ just my grocery amounts to Php3000 without electricity and LPG.... that's $60 or Y6000....
Why does it costs much more in Japan and America?
because you eat very simple. Most people in America eat a lot of high priced crap with artificial color, flavor
that might work. I'd just use my savings to buy mutual funds. it takes two days to sell and make a withdrawal but it DOES make more then a savings account. I actually have been doing that for a year or two.
Being poor has been found to create mental illness, not so much the other way.
That being said, go figure he would basically call for communism while calling the people sick.
So let's get this straight:
First, the banks run up a huge debt based on nothing or other slight of hand.
Second, the debt becomes unpayable and they muscle the government into signing on to it, which in turn destroys the economy.
Thirdly, they blame the victim and start openly calling for the government to loot it's people.
The government basically has been taken over by the banks, based on nothing. Lives destroyed by CORPORATISM/crony capitalism, not capitalism.
Consumerist capitalism is just wasteful and unsustainable
lols talking shit about how people need to buy more stfu
Are people really having trouble understanding this? Consumption is down because PRODUCT QUALITY IS DOWN. Start making better shit, that lasts longer, is more interesting, had some work and creativity put into it.. and we'll buy.
They want $$$$$.
"If you don't buy this useless piece of crap you are SICK! You are SICK in the HEAD!"
Does he know what a schizophrenic is? I don't think he does.
If being frugal is schizophrenic then I don't wanna be sane.
not sure if this was mentioned but i see this as a ploy to keep the poor poor and the rich rich. By not allowing the poor to save money they keep them poor and unable to advance in life i.e. buying a house. I know from my experience that what you get paid never reflects the market and if you do get a pay raise they increase everything else so i doesn't make a difference. Perfect example, i am a manager of a store, after a 2 year pay freeze i get a raise of $0.35 while all items in the store go up by $0.50 to $2.00 under the guise of everyone's pay raise. I don't see that, but if i had to pay more taxes and can only get it back by spending what would i have left to spend, i bearly have enough to feed my family at times.
Well he's right about one thing. Spending your way out of an economic depression is a viable option. It's just that most people think that if I spend, then the other guy doesn't need to, so fuck that, I'm saving; let the other people spend for me. And of course everyone thinks that so this turns into a constant squeeze on the economy. It'll recover on it's own of course, as companies start lowering their costs and firing people, but it'll take a while without any help from the public.
There is a major problem with spending money -> you have to earn them again :(
So you can:
1) spend your money on shit and work for them like an idiot
2) or if you have some money, to enjoy being a neet
that guy is a PSYCHIATRIST ? He should be LOCKED UP as a CRIMINAL MADMAN !
Forced extreme capitalism FTW
I just had to lol at what that guy said. Freaking moron.
"Forced extreme capitalism"
Sounds more like communism.
Wow.
I think I just facepalmed so hard that I probably gave myself a concussion... Not only am I speechless because of this article, but now I might have some damage to my brain on top of that.
Great. Just great.
You now have a brain damage? Then that madman reached his goal... ^_^
Thanks for the show of concern, Schrobby...
=_="
But people who compulsively buy things are also following trends... why aren't they being called schizophrenic as well?
Hideki Wada is the one who suffers from Schizophrenia
He's simply a charlatan. Worthless academic. Years of study (and his parent's SAVED money) went down the drain.
He also forgot that if no one saves, no one can invest in the stock market. What an idiot.
He suffers from thinking he's sane.
The only way saving money can sound dumb is because the inflation rate is higher then the interest rate, so you're losing money in a sense. But no, no such reasonable claim from this lunatic.
Most psychiatrists are crazier than their patients!
Maybe they should ask ppl like Bill Gates (of cause japanese ones in this case) if they want to spend some billions to support the economy. I bet there are rich ppl hoarding their money in Japan too...
Also how can ppl spend money if they dont have much like japanese animators...
Amusing how often so many academically intellectual people (or how should I put it) fail to see common sense when it's dancing naked in front of them wearing a horse mask.
pretty much 'cause they are so focused on the analyzing the horse mask and the vulgarity they call the naked human form. not to mention the audacity to enjoy your self expression by dancing.
Amusing? It's depressing. Higher education only reduces the percent of morons a bit, it doesn't eliminate them. It's horribly depressing how many morons there are in total on every level. I can only hope they will weed themselves out, leaving the hard-working sensible people around.
Now i got the need to search for a common sense tan and imagine her with a horse mask because that's what got into my head. :D
This is one of the most incredibly retarded thing's I've ever heard
Schizophrenic? I wouldn't say that... Crazy? Possibly. I mean, I don't 'buy' things, at least in the typical consumerism sense. If I'm not buying stuff I want used off ebay-- like my NEO-GEO arcade cabinet --I'm making it. And I will readily admit to being completely batshit insane. :D
I'm a bit of a mad scientist...or rather, adapting terminology from a certain crazy steampunk comic, I like to think of myself as a 21st century digital madboy.
I built, in my apartment, what amounts to a small scale research, development, and manufacturing facility for electronics and other things. (Read: Not nuclear weapons, really.) :3
When I build my army of robots, you are all proper-fucked. Seriously. :O
How much for a lolibot?
I see wat u've read thar. Me concurs. ^^ :D
i've got a list of at least 1000 people on board for a lolibot, you should consider it!
Nothing better than a lolibot for proper robot fucking. ^_^