Japan ME Association is pleased to announce the international release of “Hope to Our Hands: The Hidden Story of ME/CFS in Japan,” an English-subtitled version of our documentary film on ME patients in Japan. It may be streamed or downloaded on VIMEO here.
Originally created to raise awareness among government health policymakers and the general public in Japan and screened domestically since its completion in 2018, the new English-subtitled film (produced from an abridged version targeted to Japanese medical professionals) brings the film to an international audience for the first time.
The situation of Japanese ME/CFS patients has long been unknown outside Japan. Most Japanese patients lack the English skills to access online information from abroad. Amidst this isolation, the Japanese government and medical profession have continued to neglect the disease as a “fatigue” illness with psychogenic factors for the past 30 years. It is also the story of Japan ME Association, founded by Mieko Shinohara, who fell ill with ME while studying abroad in the United States, and patients’ efforts to create much-needed change.
Recommended by the Japan Medical Association president and the former Japanese Society for Neurology president and receiving the strong support of patients and doctors alike, it is our hope that in sharing the documentary, Japan can begin to join the international ME/CFS community to advocate for patients’ lives.
Japan ME Association 