01/09/2026
“Still here”
Kako, 23, developed anorexia at the age of eight and stopped attending school. Her parents divorced when she was 10, and she was first hospitalized in a closed psychiatric ward at 11. She was repeatedly hospitalized until she was 14 and began self-harming during elementary school.
She began living independently at 14 and moved to Tokyo at 15, where she studied acting while working part-time. Her anorexia later returned, and her weight fell to 33 kilograms. At 18, she recognized that experiences involving her father during childhood had been sexual in nature. Her last episode of self-harm was at 19.
She later worked as a dietitian at a psychiatric hospital but left after health problems. She subsequently began working as an actor.
Kako currently works part-time as a dietitian while receiving employment support. She also works as an actor and engages in creative activities including drawing, playing guitar and writing scripts. Asked about her future, she says, “Not committing suicide.”
