ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses several important facts about people of Japanese ancestry. In 1990, there were 847,562 people of Japanese ancestry in the United States, more than half of whom lived in California and Hawaii. A common myth in the United States suggests that people of Japanese ancestry, along with the Chinese, are models of financially and educationally successful minorities and, therefore, suffer no adjustment problems, as presumably demonstrated by their apparent low juvenile delinquency rate and little use of mental health resources. Many Japanese traditions and customs are still evident in the Japanese-American community, however diluted by American culture. The professionals of Japanese ancestry and those of non-Japanese background, in counseling elderly Japanese Americans, need to be aware of the Japanese culturally prescribed personality that expects internalization of conflicts and discourages acknowledgment or sharing of these with others, even sometimes within the family.
