The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) in Japan: A cross-cultural comparison.

Wakabayashi et al. (2006) gave the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) to Japanese adults with Asperger’s or high-functioning autism and to neurotypical adults and students.

They wanted to see if the same score gap found in the United Kingdom would show up in Japan.

Autistic adults scored much higher on the AQ than controls and students.

The pattern matched the original UK data, so the test separates the groups in Japan too.

Kunihira et al. (2006) extended the work by showing AQ scores in non-autistic Japanese adults track with personality and mood traits, not autism-specific thinking skills.

Suzuki et al. (2018) later mapped AQ-Short scores across Japanese workers and found traits rise gradually with male sex and lower income, again supporting the tool’s validity.

Yu-Lau et al. (2013) conceptually replicated the effort in Taiwan, finding the Chinese AQ also holds together psychometrically, strengthening confidence across East Asia.

Block et al. (2026) widened the lens to four countries and warned that culture and autism knowledge can shift self-report levels—important context when you compare scores across clients.

You can trust the Japanese AQ to flag autistic adults, just like the English version. When you screen adults for services, a high score still points toward autism even if the client grew up in Japan. Remember that culture, sex, and income can nudge scores a little, so use clinical judgment alongside the number.