Glaxosmithkline: The Significial Issue Of Depression In Japan

In Western society, depression is defined as a downcast mood or a loss of pleasure in previously interested activities. In Japan, however, depression is understood as a mental disorder and often a fatal state of sorrow. People in China describe depression as physical pain, while American Indians describe it as an overwhelming sense of loneliness. A prestigious writer who has published work in the New York Times Magazine, and Wired, among others, Ethan Watters wrote a great piece about the controversial issue of Depression and how it is viewed differently in his piece called The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan. His piece, in my interpretation, concluded that depression is perceived distinctly among different cultures based on the societal

A pharmaceutical company called GlaxoSmithKline was trying to market their antidepressant medication in Japan when there was no interest at the time. However, through a shrewd effort of creating a need for such a substance through what is known as mega marketing, GlaxoSmithKline was able to alter that. What it did first was, it helped reshape the definition of depression in Japan from Utsubyo to Kokoro no Kaze which means a cold of the soul (Watters, 524). This change in terminology reduced the stigma behind having this illness since it was viewed as a cold, which most people contract at some point in their lives. Furthermore, GlaxosmithKline created advertisements promoting the use of their medication and helped to establish news articles that touched upon the serious nature of depression. Not only that, but GlaxoSmithKline helped to translate American books about depression into Japanese in order to continue their mega marketing campaign. Incredulously, the average viewer would not have known how much behind the scenes work GlaxoSmithKline was doing. There was even an advocacy group for depression funded by GlaxoSmithKline (Watters, 525). Not only was the media influenced by GlaxoSmithKline but so was the medical professionals in Japan. So much so that Kalman Applbaum, an anthropologist who gave advice to

And, in turn, its view on health care related issues of depression. Depression can be redefined, however, it is a hard task to accomplish since there are many variables involved in a culture’s view of depression but, it can be cultivated like in Japan. And, even if depression is reinvented, it still has to be developed through an understanding of the culture one is altering. As a result, that culture still has its own unique take on the amended issue, similar to a musician who is influenced by other musicians but still has his/her own unique interpretation and expression of his/her