Symptomatic Trauma: Japan, Drug Addiction, and the Limits of Treatment

Possession and use of illegal drugs carry harsh penalties in Japan if an individual is apprehended by authorities. These severe legal restrictions stigmatize drug use while failing to eliminate narcotics from Japan. This makes individual efforts to take on recovery difficult, as admissions of past use are often met with fear and disdain. Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Center (DARC) is a Japanese organization that helps individuals work a program based on Narcotics Anonymous (NA), while providing members a place to spend their days free from temptation or judgment. Underestimated in this program is how DARC members drug use is often a symptomatic response to interpersonal trauma and struggles to meet societal expectations of success. I argue here that an NA influenced approach to recovery, typically the only option available to those seeking help in Japan, struggles to acknowledge contextual and societal factors that motivated members to begin using drugs. In doing so, I show the necessity for comprehensive change to the ways in which Japan understands, perceives, and treats those labeled as addicts.