香山リカのココロの万華鏡:若者のサポート、誰が？ ／東京

March 30, 2014(Mainichi Japan)
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Are troubled youths supposed to support themselves?
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:若者のサポート、誰が？　／東京

The trial of a 36-year-old man arrested for sending threatening letters to organizers of events related to the popular manga series, "Kuroko no basuke" (Kuroko's basketball), and to bookstores selling the manga, has begun. I was shocked by the graveness of the lengthy statement the defendant wrote (which is now posted online) -- part of which he read out loud in court.
　人気マンガに関連したイベントや単行本を売る書店などに脅迫状を送ったとされる、３６歳の男性の公判があった。法廷では被告が自ら書いた長文の陳述の一部が読まれ、ネットでは全文が公開されたが、その内容の深刻さに衝撃を受けた。

"My life is filthy, hideous and miserable," he writes. His mother told him that he had an "ugly face" and his father hit him. He was bullied in elementary school, but no adults took up the matter. Eventually he began to feel that he had been "punished since birth" and suffered a lonely life plagued by a sense of inferiority.
　被告は「自分の人生は汚くて醜くて無残」と言う。母親に「お前は汚い顔だ」と言われ父親には殴り飛ばされた。小学校ではいじめに遭うが、大人は誰も「まともに対応してくれなかった」という。次第に被告は「生まれた時から罰を受けている」と感じるようになり、コンプレックスに苦しみながら孤独な人生を歩むことになる。

The man does not go into detail about his later life, but he went on to a local preparatory high school. Still, he's "never earned more than 2 million yen a year" and describes himself as a member of "the lowest rung of losers." He says that in seeking relief from his suffering, he decided to kill himself after exacting revenge on whatever "it" was that was punishing him. That was when he zeroed in on the author of the successful manga, "Kuroko no basuke."
　それ以降の具体的な生活史は語られていないが、高校は地元の進学校に進んだものの、「年収が２００万円を超えたことは一度もない」と言い、自らを「負け組の底辺」と称する。この苦痛から解放されるため、自分に罰を与えた「何か」に復讐（ふくしゅう）を遂げてから自殺しようと考える中で、その「何か」として人気マンガの作者を選んでしまった、と動機を自己分析するのだ。

Of course, actions that strike fear among the public should not be condoned, no matter what the reason. But for now, let's try to divorce the man from his actions. From what I can tell from his statement, the defendant possesses a delicate sensitivity and an abundance of knowledge. In that sense there was no need for him to feel inferior, and he could have been expected to take advantage of those strengths to find work and make friends.
　もちろん、どんな理由があろうとも、不特定多数の人たちを不安に陥れるような脅迫を繰り返した行為を肯定することはできない。しかし、ここではあえて行為を切り離して考えたい。陳述を読む限り、被告は繊細な感受性と豊かな知識を持つ人物のようだ。その点では劣等感を抱く必要もなく、それをうまく生かして仕事に就き、友人を得ることもできたはずだと思われる。

But why couldn't he? Because he never experienced his parents or any other adult telling him that he had his strengths and that he was going to be OK. When you grow up without any praise or acceptance, you ultimately become unable to trust even yourself. You end up deciding that you are a loser who has no way of redeeming yourself and must live in despair.
　なぜそうできなかったのか。それは、彼が両親をはじめ、周りの大人に「あなたにはいいところがある」「大丈夫だよ」と支えられた経験を持てなかったからだ。誰からもほめられず、受け入れられずに育つと、結果的には自分で自分を信頼することもできなくなり、被告のように「挽回する見込みのない負け組」と決めつけ、絶望のうちに生きなければならなくなる。

At the Olympics and Japan's national high school tournaments, young interviewees are always saying things like, "I'd like to thank my family for supporting me." Meanwhile, there are youth who have been rejected both at home and at school, and wonder why they were born in the first place. In times past, adults looked out for other people's children, inviting them in for a chat if they seemed troubled -- but not anymore.
　オリンピックでも高校野球でも、インタビューで「ここまで支えてくれた家族に感謝したい」と屈託なく語る若者がいる。一方で、家族に否定され学校でも受け入れられずに、「なぜ生まれてきたのか」と自分を責めながら生きる若者もいるのだ。昔のように地域の世話好きな人がそんな若者を家に招き、励ますようなこともない。

Whose job is it to support children and youth who are growing up in a loveless environment? Are we so cruel as to insist that these young people stick it out on their own?
　誰にも愛されることのない環境で生まれ育った子どもや若者をサポートするのは誰の役割なのか。その人たちにまで「自己責任で頑張れ」と言うのはあまりに残酷な気がする。

(By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
毎日新聞　2014年03月25日　地方版