http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25978-2004Dec25.html
Tadakatsu Takaishi, as he was known then, came to the United States from Japan in 1989, a 15-year-old boy sent to military school by parents who thought he simply lacked discipline. In fact, those who know him say now, he had autism. Takaishi proved a survivor, learning English, eventually earning a college degree and finding a job in Bethesda.
...
Takaishi's American memories begin at Oak Ridge Military Academy in Oak Ridge, N.C., where he was sent by his family, owners of a Tokyo-based newspaper, after failing Japan's high school entrance exams. He knew barely a word of English. When he wasn't in class or alone in his room, he was walking -- across the drill field, through the forest, alone in a school where "no one desired to talk to me."
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The Takaishi family, Abe explained, is well-known in Japan, and as their only son, "Chris has to be a success." He was sent away, Abe said, "to become strong and to break up his so-called shyness."
It goes on to mention that he's mostly forgotten how to read and write Japanese during his 16 years in the US, so being autistic and with limited J language skills puts him in the same boat as a fair number of FGs, especially the Otaku flavor. :P
