Contemporary History of Occupational Therapy in Japan (1965-1975): Conflicts between Professionalization and Identity

TAJIMA Akiko
Abstract:
This article overviews the conflicts, contradictions and difficulties in Japan related to both the professionalization of occupational therapy as a medical service and the specification of its identity by looking at developments in the field during a 10-year period from the enactment of the Law of Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists in 1965. The source materials for this study are the Japanese Journal of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy and abstracts from meetings of the Japanese Association of Occupational Therapists, with a focus on records of discussion sessions such as round-table discussions and symposiums. Based on these documents, the paper summarizes the contemporary history of occupational therapy according to the following points of view: 1) evaluation, 2) patients and therapists, 3) relations with doctors, 4) relations with physical therapy and 5) what occupational therapy is.


Keywords: occupational therapy, contemporary history, Japan, professionalization, identity