Mental disease and stereotyping of the Japanese otaku figure

Abstract

As early as the conception of the 'otaku' stereotype in 1983, its creator, Nakamori Akio, tried to highlight the "abnormality" of otaku compared to other young people, emphasizing an unhealthy interest in their hobbies and a rather maniacal character. As if that were not enough, to reinforce the derogatory and pejorative image he was constructing of otaku, Nakamori mentions their inability to relate to real women, their consequent repressed sexuality and their tendency to paraphilia.

In the late 1980s, the "Miyazaki incident" put the spotlight on otaku in the media and society at large. The impact of the murders committed by Miyazaki Tsutomu was very relevant, and the stereotype about otaku underwent a process of pathologization. What Nakamori defined as a repressed character or a deep introversion, the media circus turned it into a psychological decline capable of deriving into a serious sexual perversion and a dangerous mental illness.

This article aims to review how, since the 2000s, psychiatrist Saitō Tamaki has tried to demystify the otaku by analyzing them from the perspective of mental health and, specifically, by emphasizing the study and understanding of their sexuality.