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The number of suicides in Japan is increasing dramatically: 13,000 people have ended their lives since the beginning of the year. Most are women. It is especially worrying that more and more young people are committing suicide. Even children talk about death, writes Deutsche Welle.
Unusually, many celebrities committed suicide in Japan this year. Reality star Hannah Kimura and 30-year-old television actor Haruma Miura were the first to take their own lives. They had both left goodbye letters. A few weeks ago, two more actresses committed suicide, aged 36 and 40.
But even beyond the spotlight in the country, too many people are ending their lives: In August, the number of suicides reached 1,850 in the month, a 15% increase over the same month last year.
The government recognized that there was a worrying trend and increased its suicide prevention budget by as much as 40% to € 29 million. And that money is very necessary.
During the pandemic, numerous non-governmental organizations that provided telephone assistance and consultations limited their activities and relied increasingly on donations. And the need for their work is constantly growing.
Mostly female and getting younger
Experts are convinced that the increase in the number of suicides is due to the pandemic. At first, in Japan, as in many other countries in the world, restrictions on public life came into force and personal contacts decreased dramatically. Initially, people mobilized to face the danger.
In the first half of the year, there were even fewer suicides in Japan than usual. But then the social and economic consequences of the crown crisis began to have an increasingly painful effect on the mental health of the Japanese.
Unemployment has risen, many small businesses have gone bankrupt, and several small business owners are mired in debt.
The rise in suicides is particularly notable in the context of relatively low mortality as a result of COVID-19. The pandemic has killed 1,600 Japanese so far and the number of suicides has already reached 13,000.
The situation in the age group of women between 20 and 40 years is the most worrying. Fukushima University health specialist Masaharu Maeda believes the reasons are primarily economic. She explains that women in this age group often lose their jobs due to the pandemic, as many of them work on temporary or part-time contracts.
Another group particularly at risk are adolescents, among whom the number of suicides has been growing for years. In August alone, nearly 60 students committed suicide, double the number in the same period last year. Experts believe that this growth is due to several factors.
Often the reason is bullying, but renewed schooling and the associated strong pressure for children to catch up quickly also play a role. “We’ve already heard about five-year-olds talking about death,” said Hiroyuki Nishino, director of a child support organization.
In other countries, the number of suicides is increasing
The number of suicides is increasing in other countries of the world. It is said that in the neighbor South Korea more and more people are taking their own lives. According to the Foundation for Suicide Prevention in India, two-thirds of therapists report an increasing number of suicide attempts and self-harm. And in United StatesAccording to a May study, over the next ten years there will be “75,000 more people who will die of despair,” this includes both suicide bombers and drug addicts.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has found that in 60 of the 130 member countries, mental health care is neglected due to the pandemic.
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Information on the subject of suicide is presented with caution, because it is assumed that sometimes information from the media can provoke acts of imitation.
If you are also hiding suicidal thoughts or are in an emotional crisis, don’t hesitate to seek help from doctors or humanitarian organizations.
There is a National Suicide Prevention Program in Bulgaria, and you can turn to the Bulgarian Red Cross (BRC) for help: Tel. 02 492 30 30 or on the Internet https://www.redcross.bg/activities/activities5/telefon.html.
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