People in Japan raised by those with mental illnesses, who often face fear and anxiety due to the difficulty understanding their parents' conditions, are launching a group to share their experiences and offer mutual support.
Nursing professionals, meanwhile, are publishing a book of memoirs by such children in a bid to spread awareness about the need for the support.
A child's development and life are greatly affected if one or both parents suffer from mental illness, which brings various hardships for the children in adulthood. But it was only recently that the need to support such children was widely acknowledged, according to Keiko Yokoyama, a professor of psychiatric nursing at Saitama Prefectural University. Yokoyama has engaged in a range of support programs for families of such parents.