Why This Autistic Girl Moved to Japan

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Күн бұрын

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@Shammon5 7 ай бұрын

I'm a late diagnosed autistic, but I got my diagnosis after i already had moved to Japan. I haven't been able to articulate why living here feels so comfortable, but she explains it so well! People say that the rules are so difficult but i like how clearly they're laid out. If there is a rule I don't know i feel embarrassed but then afterwards I know it and won't make the mistake again. I also like the order and how easy it is to understand where to go and what to do. And at least in the country side its so quiet and people are very kind. I guess we have privilege being foreigners that native Japanese do not, like she said. I don't hide my diagnosis here and hope we can be advocates for autistics in the community who don't feel comfortable disclosing themselves.

@MrMartellSincere 7 ай бұрын

I appreciate your input and thoughts are greatly appreciated

@PropagandalfderWeiße 7 ай бұрын

As an high functioning autist myself, I've been to Japan three times and will go there for one year soon. The coulture is really perfect for people on the spectrum. No eye contact, no loud behaviour, no loud music in shops, everything just works (like trains are on time, everywhere are clean!!! public toilets etc.), the behaviour is highly ritualised (all those unwritten "rules" are far more standardised than in europe) which makes daily life so much less stressful. Here every time I am in a big city, I get the urge to run away after sometimes just half an hour and I need strong medication to endure being around so many people. And I cant go into the city without my wife who can calm me down. In Japan I could go to Tokyo, literally the most crowded City on earth, for two weeks and alone without any medication.

@honeynfred 7 ай бұрын

I have autism. I was not diagnosed until I was 36. Japan was so great. People not talking. Most people behaving logically.

@deker0954 2 ай бұрын

What a relief.

@ryoki_PH 7 ай бұрын

thank you for talking with someone like this. i’m an autistic person living in australia and i’ve always wanted to move to japan, so it’s good to find others who have done something similar and enjoyed it : )

@krimson_95 7 ай бұрын

I'm glad to hear that foreigners with autistic problems are treated better in Japan than in Europe. No matter what difficulties you encounter, people's kindness can help you live peacefully. Thank you for another great video Nobita-san👍

@NimsChannel 7 ай бұрын

It's not that you are "treated better". It's just that you don't set off any alarm bells. Anything unusual gets written off as cultural.

@Bianca_Toeps 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for this interview! We talked for 1,5 hours and you managed to edit it down to this video that perfectly tells my story, that's amazing. 😊 Also, thank you to all the people who (pre-)ordered my books, that makes me so happy! 💕

@AlphaProto 7 ай бұрын

Japan seems like the perfect place for people with social problems. Just by the nature of how things are done there.

@SydneyCarton2085 7 ай бұрын

Benign social problems. American inner city "youth" have social problems but they would ruin Japanese culture.

@HeavenlySaviour 7 ай бұрын

@@SydneyCarton2085not all American inner city youth would.

@B1ackmagic 7 ай бұрын

@@HeavenlySaviour That's right, not all of them. Just the kind he's describing.

@SS501Fan101 7 ай бұрын

Hikikimoris would like to disagree

@viperxgamez311 7 ай бұрын

No what, Japanese talking requires so much social Que knowledge and reading of the air, they wont speak to you "Directly" and instead hint and such. I swear this is exactly what autistic people have issues with, and from my time living in japan, most of my friends with such issues drown in the social situations, and return to their home countries.

@higherground337 6 ай бұрын

Thank you for taking on this topic! This and your "Autistic Adults in Japan" interviews are so respectful and educational. As an autistic person, I find it amazing how our experiences of being bullied and feeling out-of-place are so similar no matter where we are from.

@curbowman 7 ай бұрын

I completely understand her experience. I was diagnosed at 39, and lived constantly with depression. I still struggle with social interactions but at least I can get through the day.

@markmuller7962 7 ай бұрын

I have ADHD and I'm very proud of having reached half way through the video without clicking on a new one :)

@sillyoctohuman 4 ай бұрын

I mean o don’t have ADHD but I do find speeding up the video abit helps with attention Idk just a tip I guess?

@markmuller7962 4 ай бұрын

@@sillyoctohuman It make sense in theory, maybe the difficulties in paying attention (that makes you miss parts of a video) makes x2 less appealing, also for a non English mother tongue like me can it turn kinda frustrating. But I think the attention problem is the main one and yea if you're not mother tongue it's even harder to focus which increases the risk of missing part of it and having to jump back which is very annoying. Thx for the tip tho 🤗

@sillyoctohuman 4 ай бұрын

@@markmuller7962 oh yeah English is my first and only language and I watch with subtitles ( even if their crappy autogenerated ones) because I find the subtitles help sharpen the words ( that doesn’t make sense lol) But when I’m consuming a lot of information I like to speed it up not because I can’t physically pay attention but because it stops me from going ‘oh but that must be like that’ or something and then I’ve stopped focusing on the video Also on my phone holding down the screen speeds it up and the little vibratey click it makes is very satisfying Honestly if you can I recommend subtitles if you don’t already it gives your eyes something to do!

@markmuller7962 4 ай бұрын

@@sillyoctohuman So I think there are many problems with x2 for ADHD ppl. 1 It forces you to hard focus even when you don't subconsciously want to (most of the times) especially in a foreign language which requires even more focus. 2 We can miss parts of a x1 video because our mind wander so imagine x2 3 Subtitles are even worst when it comes to forced focus, you literally have to read them so if I can avoid them I always do 4 Speeding it up doesn't really help us consuming more information, the opposite so, we might actually miss a lot of information and we actually often miss a lot even at x1 speed. Remember, there's a tornado in our mind, there's never ever peace, a normal person would lose he's mind after 5 minutes inside our head P.s. The main problem for adult ADHD is being forced in doing or focusing on something, it's like telling a 4 years old child to stop playing with he's favourite toy when he feels like he's not finished playing. Our frontal lobe is dysfunctional, we can't really decide to do something or focus on something if the child-brain (subconscious without the frontal lobe control) decides that he doesn't want to. (Same for the opposite, convincing us to *not* do something when the unchecked "child"-brain want to do it and that's the impulsivity symptom)

@sillyoctohuman 4 ай бұрын

@@markmuller7962 oh I see so if you don’t like something you wouldn’t really do it then And I see what you mean about the speed if your brain is so busy all the time I found this very interesting - thank you!

@gwynbleidd839 7 ай бұрын

can I just say that your book title is just.... insanely good? you sharing your experience is really like starting a snow ball, that grows big, I know personally diagnosed myself with Social Anxiety, and even though I saw some TV shows and movies where it had an Autistic character, and I just couldn't see my self like them, I can relate 100% to their social issues, but when I look in the mirror I feel like: "But You Don't Look Autistic at All" which is hilarious now, I related insanely to your talk, and this lead me to search non stop ever since I saw this video when it was released, taking tests, watching every KZbin channel covering ASD and such, and it's insane to know how diverse that ASD can get, it's just not necessarily have to manifest looking like a math genius and have unbeatable memory and such it's like my Social Anxiety might be a small part of the bigger picture, as it explained more and more stuff, it's just like something out of science fiction like it's a "theory of everything" or something, that explains tones and tones of your life, mentality, feelings and much more. I can't believe how life changing that might be if I truly went to a professional, and officially got diagnosed with ASD, yes it's not easy to do so, as it's really expensive in the first place, and you can get undiagnosed or something, but at least this encouraged me to seek medical professional, despite those difficulties, I still haven't, but I intend to do so soon but all I want to say is really THANK YOU from the bottoms of my heart even if I was undiagnosed or something, I know this is really close, as I scored very high likelihood in all Autism tests I took online, like in The Aspie, RAADS-R, CAT-Q & The AQ so there's got to be something going on, it can't be just my imagination after hearing and watching all of those experiences shared by all the people in the ASD community and relating to it very much

@istvan_m 7 ай бұрын

As someone on that spectrum too, the aspects of Japan covered in this video feel very appealing to me. Part of me would love to make the same move as Bianca. One thing I'll say to Bianca: learning some skills to be able to get by more easily is helpful but don't ever feel that you need to change who you are inside.

@romanokeesmaat712 7 ай бұрын

This is one of the few interviews i have ever fully watched, i am also from the Netherlands and would like to be able to experience Japan because In many ways i can relate to her and there for Japan seems to be the perfect place in my eyes. Thank you for this interview!

@doderiolarkisso4038 7 ай бұрын

What a beautiful person.

@アレックスの部屋-s9h 7 ай бұрын

wow jsut watching her I can name at least 10 people I ment at school etc in germany and japan who were not dignozed but had the same charactaristic features ... indeed having an enterpreneur /startup visa needs a solid biz plan and cash... speaking of the coltural simmularities netherlands are quite simmular to germany. I knew duch guy back in the days and have seen many german features in him

@markmuller7962 7 ай бұрын

Indeed ASD and ADHD are extremely underdiagnosed especially in women

@CatalogK9 7 ай бұрын

As an autistic American woman (late-diagnosed at 35) looking to move to Japan, this is exactly the kind of thing I love to see! Thank you for this wonderful content, and for introducing us to this amazing author as well!

@深夜-l9f 7 ай бұрын

it feels like it's more of difference than "disorder"

@itsonlytony 7 ай бұрын

Many years ago, a Nobita video taught me to say sumimasen. It has been very useful.

@matthewhenley783 5 ай бұрын

This is such an encouraging video, Nobita. Bianca is a great example of what people on the autistic spectrum can achieve. My 5 year old son has autism. He and I are alike in many ways. I discovered I am probably on the spectrum too, so this gives me a lot of hope👍🙂

@pokemongirl5674 7 ай бұрын

I have autism (diagnosed at 3, I believe) and I find this video to be fascinating. I would not mind visiting Japan one day but I would have to figure out how to make it work (also am a diabetic)

@安藤奈津美-s8c 7 ай бұрын

Hi, I'm a type-1 diabetic living in Japan and I have kind of borderline autism, so I just can't resist the urge to cheer you up!

@higherground337 6 ай бұрын

You can make it work! I'm autistic and live in Japan. It may be helpful to establish some kind of support system before coming over here unless you speak the language fluently. For example, an employer who will help you get set up with an apartment and bank account, etc. And local friends who can help you if you need it. I had that kind of support and it was crucial for me my first couple of years.

@danielak4264 14 күн бұрын

It's great that Bianca chose the right job - working independently - and the right support from the outset. Most likely, she would have had a far more negative, if not traumatizing, experience had she tried out employment at a Japanese company, school or university. Goodness gracious, these are, with few exceptions, horrendous, cruel places for neurodivergent (ND) employees. As noted in the video, most ND persons go undiagnosed, but I'm sure a significant number are added every year to Japan's staggering suicide rate, as well as to the ranks of the unemployed, the hikikomori, the homeless and the incarcerated - in sum, to society's most marginalized people. Hence it’s a gross oversimplification to say that Japan is a great place for ND persons, foreign or otherwise. Perhaps it is in some micro aspects of social interaction pointed out in the video, but it isn't in many major others. Would Bianca be treated with equal kindness and respect were she, say, black and male? Check your privilege… Reality in Japan (and elsewhere, for that matter) is complex and multilayered - let's honour that in our portraits and reflections. Only two years in the country seems a very limited and narrow experience. Perhaps Bianca needs to stay much, much longer and diversify her life experiences to come to understand in greater depth the true extent of the predicament of ND people in Japan.

@NimsChannel 7 ай бұрын

My mom dropped me off on my first day of kindergarten relieved to have a break. She got a call shortly after to come pick me up. I think this kind of autistic is pretty common in the way it manifests. I myself am the same. You have so many bad experiences with people that you eventually become self reliant just to not hear somebody correcting the mistakes you make. It's a hard niche. You need a job that doesn't recognize your faults. I myself do better dating foreigners. Unfortunately, the fact you tend to be hated by most people and teachers means you get poor outcomes as far as grades and mental health go. I'm near 40 now, I realized that people have a hard time hating an eccentric but will become uneasy around you if you don't respond correctly. So I always meet people with energy so they just think I'm crazy, and don't think different. I love the video though. At work my main gripes have been people wearing colognes. Wrote the prior paragraph before i watched the video. I was diagnosed back in the early 90's. Unfortunately my issues manufested into chronic depersonalization at the age of 13 or so. I had step-grandparents who would lock me in a room with nothing but a cott, and not allow me to do anything. Otherwise they'd punish me by making me write what I did wrong that week over and over the entire day. Otherwise they'd do things like feed me food I found unpalatable then dump it out of my head when I couldn't finish it and make me stand outside. They were actually really nice people though, it's just that that part of the spectrum makes people turn to anger in my experience. Know you at least aren't alone. I've only had one person at work decipher what i actually was. He was very angry at me, and so angry he went home to Google what was wrong with me. So the next day he walked in and literally said, "do you have aspergers?". I looked at him for a few seconds, and said that would be an accurate diagnosis. Then he said "Oh, sorry. I've e been so mad at you but now that i understand we're cool".

@skofos 6 ай бұрын

As an autistic girl too, I fell in love with japanese culture at first glance : I thought I understood more the people there, because japanese people have more social distance in overall, just like I need (less touch, less loud, less everything!). It just makes me more comfortable with others I suffered a lot from being unknowingly autistic for 20 years; nowadays I try to reconciliate with my country's social customs, but japanese culture helped me a lot to get through my youth with the concept of tatemae especially

@gwynbleidd839 7 ай бұрын

thank you a lot for sharing your experience, while I'm not diagnosed with anything as of now, since where I live it's not.... lets say, easy to have anything with mental health care, but I'm sure I'm struggling with communication and SAD, so it's been a dream of mine, to travel to Japan for that reason, I imagined I would fit there more, or get accepted in a way, but you basically summed up all of those imaginations, into reality!! you made me feel hope in a way, yes with difficulties, but it could work in a way. also the fact that you could be diagnosed with Autism, even when you are old, not a small kid is a surprise to me too, since SAD, ADHD & Autism, could have similar signs, it's hard to actually know if you have what or even something else, since it may not be on the either ends of the spectrum, you may not be completely obvious, but you have some disorder to a degree so thank you both Nobita-san and Bianca-san.

@lostboy8084 7 ай бұрын

I do believe that Japan has now passed a law or something like that that allows foreign businesses or prospective businesses start ups to get residency visa you just need to meet very reasonable requirements I believe it’s like the cost of a new car in the US to start the business and you do need to in the end get a place and hire like 2 employees Don't know the specifics but maybe a video on that if you haven't done so

@CuteVidoll 3 ай бұрын

To be honest I think her case is too special. I was diagnosed with autism and adhd here in Japan just over a year ago and i did work in japanese companies and tried to date in japan etc. It was actually so much harder because I had to life up to Japanese standarts which I did not understand plus the things I already did not understand about human interactions and in Japan people will not correct you because they do not want you to feel bad but they will still judge you. I was ghosted so much by companies and private people an it gave me severe trauma. She is working from home in her own bubble and chooses when she wants to interact with people. Japan is a great country if you just want to be "left alone" but if you want to be part of the society with a mental disorder it is much much harder than other places because of the unwritten rules and high expectations

@lesliemorganking3283 7 ай бұрын

Like her I went to a montasory school too.

@murderouskitten2577 7 ай бұрын

1:20 I did not know dutch as so .... In my country , if kid at 4 yo wants and tryes to write , everyone will support and teach the kid

@MrMartellSincere 7 ай бұрын

I'm very keen and interested of seeing autism in Japan. How are the viewpoints about mental health conditions in Japan 🗾 I'm also disabled myself and autistic. In America, mental health is a joke and they don't care about disabled and vulnerable communities at all

@Tuturial464 7 ай бұрын

Well i can tell in traditional Asian families, mental health isn’t taken seriously. Especially autism is shown as a weakness and lack of identity

@Tuturial464 7 ай бұрын

Well ask them about Nanking first

@MisterCynic18 7 ай бұрын

Japan is rather notorious for ignoring mental health problems

@MrMartellSincere 7 ай бұрын

@@magicseahorse thank you for your time and consideration for those living with autism/disability as much as possible. I'm an disabled recording artist and songwriter with autism. You're correct on how people with disabilities awareness aren't fully adopted and acceptable in America/Western culture. Yet, let alone Japan/Asia isn't keen to understand the people with disabilities are looked down upon as social failures and rejects via bringing shame and dishonor among themselves and families

@TeHj0keR 7 ай бұрын

I haven't been able to receive a life saving medication for the majority of my life. Because drug abuse is so rampant here they treat everyone as drug addicts by default. Meanwhile all of the drug addicts on the street would have no problem smoking crack until their hearts explode or shooting heroin until they die. No disability money. No medication. Just endless gaslighting and abuse. I just want to live in a country where I can receive my medication so that I can at least live a semi-normal life.

@lunarie1233 Ай бұрын

I would like to hear other experiences from other foreigners with different mental illness like bipolar disorder, bpd, social anxiety.... As a person with those iy would be interesting to hear their respective

@simpson6700 6 ай бұрын

japan has these rent a person services, i feel like an integration buddy service would be nice, just someone who goes outside with you to do mundane things, shopping for groceries, riding the train, going to a restaurant, showing you cool places, or whatever. they could teach you japanese and point out these unspoken rules when you two come across them. they could also make japanese only phone calls for you.

@morphunkown 6 ай бұрын

I liked during the pandemic when they had spots for people to stand on. People get way to close to me while Im trying to shop for groceries and it always makes me anxious.

@georgiasumby6092 7 ай бұрын

I’m autistic and I’m so nervous about going to visit Japan I don’t want to come across as rude and dismissive cause I don’t know the social norms.

@andreiprecup1368 7 ай бұрын

Hey Nobita, if you get a chance to speak with Bianca again, please let her know that she can use the Google Lens app to translate in real time. Please let me know how it works for her

@marocat4749 7 ай бұрын

very german no austrian accent :D , and its fun, accents are fun.

@清子八木澤 7 ай бұрын

Welcome😊

@everythingisfine9988 7 ай бұрын

I like socializing, eye contact, touch... Japan (although cool) would be a very difficult place for me to live long-term. I would become depressed & lonely

@gamerdaddy8597 5 ай бұрын

❤

@jimtc1000 7 ай бұрын

Everything is explained in the title .

@keith48993 7 ай бұрын

4:36 She even wears one of those (unhygienic) face mask. So glad I do not see any sane people wear such mask in Europe anymore.

@OpEditorial 7 ай бұрын

Japan tends to be immaculately clean, orderly, quiet, and safe. The perfect environment for someone who's a wealthy, privileged white woman going through a phase.

@Marescio 7 ай бұрын

Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder though, not some temporary phase. So I don't think your comment applies to her, if that's what you mean.

@anonymousmc7727 4 ай бұрын

She doesn’t seem autistic to me😂

@farisan6664 7 ай бұрын

Nobita-San, I would appreciate alot if you make one video on Muslims community in Japan as well, because you have never talked about them and I know many viewers will be curious on this topic as well. 😊

@thdotaku 7 ай бұрын

doesnt look auti\stic to me, lying for attention?

@Marescio 7 ай бұрын

She does to me, in so far as that is possible. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder. So of course it doesn't have a 'look' per se.

@thdotaku 7 ай бұрын

@@Marescio No I meant her behavior not appearance, Any weird things she described were just a socially awkward teen so about half of them. Not actual symptom\s of autism.

@thdotaku 7 ай бұрын

@@Marescio Also the very late diagnosis age i\s strange to \sy the least, didnt the parents notice anything ever?

@Marescio 7 ай бұрын

@@thdotaku I don't know. But I only got diagnosed at 31, and some people get diagnosed after 50 or 60. Similar to Bianca, I was also considered 'gifted' at some point. Autistic people tend to cope by masking their autism in public/social situations. That doesnt mean they don't suffer from it, it just means they try to fit in (often to their own detriment).

@thdotaku 7 ай бұрын

@@Marescio Again doesnt the age of diagnosis strike you as strange, I suggest opening a real medical psychiatry book from a uni and judging for yourself. You lived your whole life and suddenly got diagnosed at 30,50? Sounds like prescription happy docs putting people on pills tome, especially common in Amerikastan. There are also docs who ignore children with REAL OBVIOUS signs like hysteria,lack of awareness/pereception , just plain repeated stupidity.

@NamekSaiyan 7 ай бұрын

Sounds like a narcissist.

@svenlou7094 7 ай бұрын

Exactly!!...Autism is really an exhausting problem for parents and the environment. I have seen people fake this condition and it is not at all close to the real behavior of those who have autism, the shouting, babbling and disruptive behavior, lethargy, problems learning certain subjects, social problems... lately teenagers try to diagnose themselves as autistic a lot. .

@ThatRand0mGuy 7 ай бұрын

@@svenlou7094 I've observed that there's a sort of technologically induced "autism" & "ADHD" that spreads. Becoming terminally online and interfacing with algorithms designed to hijack executive functioning, along with endless novelty, seems to create similar symptoms. People running simulations of other people in their head through a screen, diving down endless rabbitholes, being fed a narrative of "neurodivergence" to explain the symptoms of their internet addiction. Remove the internet, and I believe many symptoms would go away, but that's not easy in the modern world where other structures have deteriorated. Either way, people are struggling in general. The root causes are often obfuscated.

@andrewpowell1734 7 ай бұрын

Exactly! She came across that way in her book. See my comment above.

@amykpop1 7 ай бұрын

There is no way this is your actual accent, lmfao. Dude, add some subtitles. I have no idea what you're trying to say. Don't use a fake accent.

@viperxgamez311 7 ай бұрын

Sorry to be a bit of a downer but i live here so do have one "warning" i guess, remember that Japanese people, language and so many other things are done indirectly with a lot of reading of subtle body/expressive language. Now im aware autism is indeed a spectrum but a fairly common issue amoungst autistic friends here is exactly that, im not on the spectrum and can still find difficulty in it. I'm sure some come and really enjoy japan, but from what ive seen it can be incredibly difficult for people on the spectrum to make friends or navigate these situations, and the Japanese still dont really account for mental issues and can see it as an "excuse". Anyway i hope you love it if you do move here, just some observations from living here :)

@higherground337 6 ай бұрын

You make a good point, however keep in mind that autistic people struggle to understand the social rules of their native country. That out-of-place feeling you have trying to conform to a foreign culture is typically how we feel all our lives. I still feel awkward here, as I did in the U.S. But what I've found as an autistic foreigner in Japan is that I've been given grace and patience on a level I usually didn't receive at home, because Japanese don't really expect foreigners to understand their culture. They usually appreciate any attempt, even if imperfect. As some of the comments here attest, that grace unfortunately isn't given to autistic Japanese.

@blackwater224 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for posting this. I am an autistic woman from America and this video actually gave me some hope that I could potentially, maybe be able to handle living in Japan on my own.

@FREEDOMFreedom-bv3vu 7 ай бұрын

Two of my good friends in high school were autistic. They were the best. They were different but not in a bad way. Just different. After we were friends for a while they let me know about the difficulties they faced. They both have families now and seem to be happy.

@Majootje 4 ай бұрын

Dutch girl here, late ASD diagnosed (now 38 but diagnosed at 35 ) and in love with Japan (visisted 5 times). I love how Bianca describes it, its like hearing myself... I now ordered her books as well. Thank you for this amazing video. 😊

@Soravia 7 ай бұрын

Autistic cute girl: Everyone goes "Awwww 💓" Autistic guy: Everyone goes "Ewwww 😅"

@NgaireandLucyTravel 6 ай бұрын

I am autistic and also my teenage daughter. My child was diagnosed at 6 and I was diagnosed soon after- I had no idea I was autistic but moved through childhood and early adulthood feeling different and experiencing similar experiences as Bianca. My daughter and i travelled to Japan in 2019 first time and loved it- I became very interested in language, culture and living in Japan. I was 43 and daughter was 9. Both my teenager and I learn Japanese language now and I dream of buying an Akiya. Our next visit to Japan will be end of this year. I am a registered nurse with a degree but am looking at how to move to Japan and utilise my skills in some way to work in Japan one day. Japan culture and life is very appealing to us!! Hello from Australia 🇦🇺 we enjoyed this interview very much.

@anshumansahu1087 7 ай бұрын

I think Japan is a paradise for people who love silence.

@2coixos 7 ай бұрын

I am 55 and I also am autistic. I was officially diagnosed as a very young child but my parents and therapists kept it a secret from me all my life. I found out for myself through the wonderful internet about 10 years ago and confronted my mom about it 6 years ago. Nowadays you hear so mush about autism but go back less than 20 years and there was close to nothing to find.

@CarterKey6 7 ай бұрын

Probably didn’t happen

@RuthMcDougal 7 ай бұрын

My bf is an SLP in elementary school and still meets with parents/guardians who don’t want their children to know about their diagnosis even in middle school and high school. I’m glad you found out eventually though! :-(