Japaralia July 2026 vol. 34

English translation by Perplexity below

Vol. 34 – What it means to truly support each individual’s concerns

First of all, congratulations on Japaralia’s 23rd anniversary. I’ve been fortunate to be part of it for more than half of that time, and I hope we can continue working together for many years to come.

Now, I believe everyone carries their own worries, big or small. Sometimes, those concerns may not seem significant to others. But the truth is, each person’s struggles are something only they can truly understand. Since I was young, I was full of insecurities. I gained weight easily, had a long torso with shorter legs, carried more weight in my lower body, and had small eyes—the list goes on. It was hard to find clothes that suited my unbalanced body. Growing up, I was often told these things by family and at school, which made me dislike going out and hate being photographed. Genetically, I can gain 10 kilograms quite easily—it’s almost like a special skill.

However, my struggles were not always visible from the outside. Even when I tried to express them, I was often told, “It sounds like you’re bragging when you say that.” Yet when people actually learned my real weight, they would say things like, “You look slimmer than you are,” or “You’re heavier than I expected.”

It was painful to have my concerns dismissed as exaggeration, only to then be told they were true. My skin is also prone to pigmentation and adult acne, but people around me seem to have a completely different impression. Of course, I’m happy to be seen as having good skin, and I work hard every day to maintain that image. But if I had naturally been that way without effort or concerns, I probably wouldn’t have succeeded in this field. I believe people who see me positively are seeing an image they’ve created in their minds—almost like a kind of “magic.”

The effort that comes from a lack of confidence is often invisible to others. That’s why I want to truly understand and support my clients’ concerns. Achieving the results they hope for doesn’t happen in a day or two, and because I’ve experienced that myself, I want to carefully explain the process to them.

But perhaps we are all quite similar. The grass always looks greener on the other side. The less confident we feel, the more we tend to see others as better than ourselves. Yet those same people may also be carrying their own struggles, simply hiding them.

Understanding this, I want to provide treatments that are tailored to each individual’s needs. I want to help resolve the concerns that others may not understand. Compliments, which should be positive, can sometimes make people feel that their struggles are not being acknowledged. I want to help people genuinely feel happy when they receive such words.

People often say we shouldn’t comment on others’ appearances. Everyone has their own insecurities, and having those dismissed—no matter how small—can be deeply hurtful. Especially in this country, when someone seeks help to improve something about themselves, they are often told from the start that their concern is insignificant. But what is considered “insignificant” is often judged by others, not the individual. When someone has worked hard and still cannot resolve something on their own, wanting to seek professional help and become a better version of themselves is not unreasonable.

If we were completely confident in ourselves from birth, we wouldn’t need to make any effort. It’s because we lack confidence that we strive to improve and build it. As I’ve mentioned before, since entering my 40s, I’ve stopped dwelling on things that cannot be changed. Instead, I focus on appreciating what I have and living each day with gratitude and happiness. This doesn’t mean giving up on effort. Things that cannot be achieved through effort are simply things we don’t have, while things we gain through effort become what we do have. Effort is not easy, and continuing it can even be painful. But whether or not we make that effort is something that must come from within—it cannot be forced by others.

To sum it up simply, perhaps the key is not to make assumptions. Feelings like admiration or jealousy can sometimes become one-sided perceptions. Someone who appears happy may be carrying deep emotional wounds. Someone who seems carefree may still have struggles. Even those who appear perfect may be suffering in ways we cannot see. I want to do work where I can truly support each individual and help them overcome their concerns together.