Read this article published on the Cercle Psy website.

Every year, the City of Light is said to affect some Japanese visitors to the point of causing psychiatric disorders. Who are the Japanese affected by this syndrome? What are their symptoms? What is it about Parisian life that affects them so much? Investigation.

Towards the end of the ^20th century, Japanese psychiatrist Hiroaki Ota coined the term « Paris syndrome » to describe psychiatric disorders affecting Japanese visitors and directly attributed to Parisian life. An enigmatic and seductive concept that was quickly seized upon by the media, to the point where it is now difficult to distinguish between myth and reality. A look back a few years will give us a better idea of the ins and outs of this obscure syndrome.

Since the end of the ^19th century, some Japanese have idealized France, and especially Paris, the city of all fantasies. Language, culture, literature, music, dance, cuisine, fashion, famous monuments, fine arts: everything is attractive and seductive, generating a popularity that is greatly amplified by the Japanese media. Paris is magical, Paris is idealized, « Paris awaits you », as some of the advertisements of the time put it. Unfortunately, once in Paris, the many treasures of the City of Light are not enough to hide the other side of the coin. To the point of psychologically destabilizing many a Japanese…

At the source of the malaise

In a 2004 article, psychiatrist Hiroaki Ota and his team list the four major difficulties facing Japanese people in Paris.

1) Language incomprehension: Difficulty in communicating can quickly lead to mutual incomprehension and « a feeling of strangeness, anxiety and even isolation in the Japanese « , says Dr. Ota.

2) Individualization in spite of oneself: accustomed to referring to the group to which they belong, Japanese people often find it difficult to assert themselves as individualized subjects. Eriko Thibierge-Nasu, a French-speaking Japanese psychoanalyst practicing in Paris, confirms this:  » One of my Japanese patients told me that her newsagent had spontaneously asked for her opinion on the election campaign. Where a Parisian woman would have answered « yes » and « no », my patient felt completely bewildered. Quite simply because she’s not used to personal questions ». The exchange was perceived as aggressive by this young Japanese woman. This misunderstanding can lead to feelings of persecution and inferiority, and even depression.

3) Parisian behavior: Dr. Ota and his team also point to Parisians’ behavior as a source of frustration, such as excessive, even eccentric mood swings. Eriko Thibierge-Nasu confirms:  » The Japanese are always careful to ensure that social relations run smoothly, and these remain highly codified: people are courteous, respectful and punctual in all circumstances. Aggression can be sneaky, but never explicit « . In this sense, it’s easy to imagine the state of surprise of a Japanese in the Paris metro. Yukari Mase, a Japanese woman who has been living in Paris for 12 years, says:  » Parisians have always amazed me. They’re rude, disrespectful of etiquette, aggressive and impatient. How many times have I been jostled in the metro, or badly received by disgruntled sales clerks! In Japan, this kind of behavior would not be allowed! Because in Japanese culture, those who grumble or get angry are seen as weak… ». However, she confides:  » I must admit that some Parisians amuse me sometimes! The fact that they do whatever they want and don’t play by the rules gives them a certain appreciable freedom! « .

4) Disappointment: The fourth difficulty is the gap between the fantasized Paris and the real Paris. After all, not all Parisians are elegant and romantic, distinguished and attentive! Jean-François Sabouret, a researcher at the CNRS specializing in Japan and Japanese culture, confirms this:  » After dreaming so much about Paris, some Japanese women are disappointed when they discover the reality . Eriko Thibierge-Nasu qualifies these prejudices. According to her, the true face of the capital is much more widespread than it was in the ^19th century, and the Japanese aren’t as fooled as you might think. On the contrary, some of them are even apprehensive about their stay in Paris, given the alarmist media coverage…

But that’s not all. Still according to Eriko Thibierge-Nasu, the French and Japanese do not invest speech in the same way. In France, people exchange ideas, argue, criticize and argue: speech is a way of asserting oneself. In Japan, language is extremely codified, leaving no room for improvisation, with the Japanese expressing themselves on the basis of conventional phrases.

Paris syndrome… or elsewhere!

What are the symptoms of these many cultural differences? For a time, psychological care for the Japanese was organized in Paris, based on collaboration between the Sainte-Anne hospital and the Japanese embassy. Ota Hiroaki carried out his consultations in one of the hospital’s departments. He claims to have seen over 60 Japanese patients between 1988 and 2004. Their symptoms? Wandering, psychomotor agitation, auto- and hetero-aggression, suicide attempts, but also feelings of strangeness, derealization, depersonalization and even dissociation. Psychotic and mood disorders, such as major depression, mania or anxiety disorders, are sometimes associated with this symptomatology. This list quickly made the rounds of the world’s media.

However, according to Hiroaki Ota himself, these psychic disorders are mainly observed in  » fragile personalities who have sought to escape their difficulties of integration within their own country, or in search of an illusory freedom « . Eriko Thibierge-Nasu adds:  » In this sense, it can happen to them in London, Rome or Brussels! According to Jean-François Sabouret, this syndrome does not affect Japanese people simply visiting Paris through the window of a bus, but rather those who are in France for a longer stay, for a thesis or a job for example. Moreover, according to him, this syndrome specifically affects Japanese women from good families « raised in cotton », who dream of an enchanted Paris. Finally, according to Yukari Mase, difficulties in adapting to Parisian life emerge from the third year onwards:  » The young Japanese women I work with who only stay a year in the capital adapt quite well « .

The contours of the Paris syndrome therefore seem more complex than the media would have us believe. What’s more, the syndrome is widely credited with scientific credibility. According to Eriko Thibierge-Nasu, it is not clinically recognized:  » It’s just a literary term that appeared in the 1980s, which generalizes and amplifies a simple disappointment experienced by some Japanese visitors to Paris, a legitimate intercultural apprehension « .

Conversely, is it possible to speak of a « Tokyo syndrome »? According to Nicolas Bosc, a doctor of psychology and clinical psychologist practicing in Tokyo, the answer is no. « On the other hand, I meet many French people in Tokyo who suffer from the Japanese system as it exists in Japanese companies: heavy workloads, hierarchical rigidity, frequent humiliation, physical and moral harassment « . So much so, in fact, that these individuals develop chronic psychological suffering, and even major psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety and burn-out. Culturally, Japan can be quite trying for some expatriates, with  » the difficulty of communicating with Japanese people, the gigantism of big Japanese cities like Tokyo, and the rigidity of the Japanese system, which leaves little room for the spontaneity and improvisation so dear to some Westerners « . Finally, Japan’s great distance from France can reinforce the impression of loneliness and loss of bearings.

Finally, why this infatuation with the Paris syndrome? Doesn’t it actually cover up two myths: that of the City of Light, with its striking paradoxes, and that of the Japanese, whose culture escapes us?

To find out more…

A. Viala, H. Ota, M-N. Vacheron, P. Martin and F. Caroli (2004). Japanese pathological travelers in Paris: an original model of transcultural care. Nervure, p 31 à 34, n°5.

« Le syndrome de Paris » by Saé Shimai with Ryôko Murakawa and Philippe Adam. 50′ / 2008 / vostf / Betacam

« Hana no miyako » 26′ / 2007 / vostf / Betacam, a documentary by Akihiro Hata / Produced by La Femis