Book: "It's Okay to Be Different: DPIC Development Theory to Break Free from Normalcy" to be Released on June 2nd

JMAM (Japan Management Association Management Center) (President and Representative Director: Shiro Cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo) will release the book "It's Okay to Be Different: DPIC Development Theory to Break Free from Normalcy" on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at bookstores nationwide and online.

About This Book

How to find a position where you can live in peace even if you are different

Just realizing that "there is a part of me that feels different" can make your heart feel lighter.

"Why can't I fit in like everyone else?"

At work, at home, in friendships – we all struggle with being "different" from others every day. We feel like we can't read the room. Our values don't align. Compared to those around us, we feel like we're the only one who's strange. But perhaps that pain doesn't come from "there being someone different," but from "how you perceive that difference" – your own way of seeing things.

Based on the theory "DPIC (Developmental Profile for Intercultural Consciousness)" born from intercultural sensitivity research, this book helps you re-examine your own "structure of common sense" and cultivate a perspective that isn't swayed by human relationships.

The reasons you feel "I'm not understood." The background behind blaming yourself for "not being normal." And how to create a position where you can live in peace, even while being different.

Instead of trying to change others, deepening your understanding of yourself as someone who feels "difference" can gradually make human relationships easier.

You don't have to fear "not being able to understand each other." This is a new textbook on human relationships for you, who is different, to live without denying yourself.

Book Overview

Title: It's Okay to Be Different

Subtitle: DPIC Development Theory to Break Free from Normalcy

Author: Shizu Yamamoto

Release Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Price: 1,980 yen (tax included)

Publisher: Japan Management Association Management Center

Pages: 316 pages

Format: Shiroku (approx. 188 x 128 mm)

ISBN: 9784800594433

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Novel: The Distance from "Normal" - Part 1 Chapter 2: Goodbye to the Only "Correct World Line" Chapter 3: The Trap Called Autopilot: Why People Can't Forgive Those Who Deviate from "Normal" Chapter 4: What Does It Look Like?: What You Care About Is the Center of Your World Chapter 5: The Invisible Wall, The Visible Pain: Why That Gaze Turns to You Chapter 6: Reframing That Pain in Different Words: Physics Becomes Your Ally Chapter 7: The Event of "Difference": Reflecting on That Divided Experience Through "Small Boundaries" Chapter 8: DPIC: Where Are You on Your Journey?: Encounters with "Difference" Change the Scenery Chapter 9: Novel: The Distance from "Normal" - Part 2 Chapter 10: Miki's Journey Again: DPIC Commentary Chapter 11: Into the DPIC Journey

Author Profile

Shizu Yamamoto

Professor, Department of English Language and Communication, School of Letters, Tokai University; Director, Intercultural Development Research Institute; Advisor, Ideal Leaders. Specializes in intercultural communication, intercultural training, and intercultural communication education. Holds a Master's degree in Communication Studies from Portland State University and a Ph.D. (Education) from Sophia University, specializing in cross-cultural psychology and intercultural education. Has researched the scaling of the intercultural sensitivity development model and its conceptualization based on Japanese sensibilities for over 20 years. Developed the "Intercultural Consciousness Development® Profile" (DPIC: Developmental Profile for Intercultural Consciousness) test for measuring intercultural sensitivity. This test enables the measurement of intercultural sensitivity levels and the provision of individual advice, and is used in corporate global leadership/diversity training and coaching from a developmental perspective.

About the Book

A new textbook on human relationships for people who worry about "having to be normal."

Purchase Links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/480059443X

Rakuten Books: https://books.rakuten.co.jp/rb/18639219/