Mental health care in Japan: recognition and treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.

Despite the apparent high availability of psychiatric services in Japan, the quality and type of care have historically been lower than that provided in Western society. However, Japanese psychiatry is undergoing a period of transition. Recent changes in the provision of health care, the adoption of internationally standardized diagnostic criteria, the availability of newer antidepressant drugs such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and other social and economic factors mean that psychiatric services are improving at various levels.