Inside the abusive world of Japanese nursing: ‘violence was common’

April 28, 2025

in Asia

Reading Time: 2 mins read

The most frightening experience of Yoko Tsukamoto’s nursing career began when a psychiatric patient grabbed her by the neck and attempted to strangle her. It ended only when her colleagues managed to pull the man away.

Never in her 20 years as a nurse had Tsukamoto faced such acute physical danger. Yet the incident, she says, is just one in a litany of issues plaguing Japan’s hospitals. From verbal abuse and physical assaults to sexual harassment and mistreatment by patients’ families, violence and harassment against medical staff are far more common than many people realise.

But now, the arrest of actress Ryoko Hirosue has brought long-simmering frustrations to the surface. Hirosue, best known internationally for her roles in Wasabi, produced by Luc Besson, and the Oscar-winning Departures, was arrested on April 8 for allegedly kicking and scratching a nurse at a hospital in Shizuoka prefecture. The incident occurred while Hirosue was being treated after a minor traffic accident.

The 44-year-old actress’s arrest, though not among the most violent cases, has opened the floodgates for healthcare workers to share their anger and experiences.

Japanese actress Ryoko Hirosue at an event in Tokyo in 2022. Photo: WireImage

For too long, the healthcare industry has turned a blind eye to the daily abuses endured by staff, according to Tsukamoto, who worked in both Japan and the United States before becoming a professor at the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido. She believes urgent changes are needed to protect medical professionals.