Fear over eating disorder care in Japan
The BBC's Tulip Mazumdar speaks to Japanese girls under pressure to be thin
By Tulip Mazumdar-25 April 2016
Most people suffering with eating disorders in Japan are not receiving any medical or psychological support, according to doctors.
By Tulip Mazumdar-25 April 2016Most people suffering with eating disorders in Japan are not receiving any medical or psychological support, according to doctors.
The Japan Society for Eating Disorders claims the health system is failing hundreds of thousands of sufferers.
It also says the pressure on girls, in particular, to be thin has "gone too far".
The government says it's trying to set up more services and has tried to discover the extent of the problem.
"I hated being chubby when I was a kid," says Motoko - who is using a different name to hide her identity.
"The other kids bullied me so I always wanted to change."
Motoko was 16 years old when her eating disorder started. She would severely limit how much she ate and then started exercising excessively.
By the time she was 19, Motoko was dangerously underweight. She says her parents didn't know how to help her.
"They were negative about my illness," she says. "When I tried to see my doctor, they told me not to.
"My mother felt responsible, perhaps my father blamed her too."
