More research vital for reducing suicide rate
The nation's suicide rate continues to make for grim reading. A report recently released by the National Police Agency said 32,155 people took their own lives last year, down 397 from the previous year but still topping the 30,000 mark for the ninth straight year.
Why do so many Japanese resort to committing suicide? To devise and implement appropriate measures to prevent people from ending their own lives, the causes, motives and backgrounds must first be exhaustively examined.
In light of the enforcement of the basic law regarding antisuicide measures in October, the government recently compiled suicide prevention guidelines that included a target of reducing the suicide rate by more than 20 percent by 2016. We think the government should create a support system in which local municipalities, schools, companies, medical institutions and private organizations work together to rid society of this epidemic.
Of the people who committed suicide last year, 6,969 did so due to financial difficulties, including slumping business and daily hardship. This figure represents a drop of 10 percent from the previous year, a trend partly helped by the ongoing economic expansion--the longest after World War II.
However, 1,919 people committed suicide due to work-related issues such as failures on the job and frictions with bosses or colleagues. This was the highest figure for this category since the NPA began recording statistics in 1978.
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Work stress on rise
According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, a record high 205 people were acknowledged in fiscal 2006 as being eligible to receive workers compensation due to suffering mental disorders brought on by job stress.
Despite recent brisk performances in the corporate sector, the number of people who feel stressed at the workplace and with their jobs appears to be increasing. Ensuring employees are of sound health, both physically and mentally, is a task corporate society must not brush under the carpet.
The NPA statistics indicated the number of suicides increased in proportion to age. As before, the largest proportion of suicides were motivated by health problems. Also, the number of suicides by middle-aged people stayed stubbornly high.
Most disturbing was the 886 students and pupils who committed suicide last year, a record high. Fourteen primary school students committed suicide in 2006, up seven from the previous year, and 81 middle school students took their own lives, an increase from 66.
According to the NPA statistics, the number of suicides committed out of angst or stress over poor academic performances, entrance examination failures and squabbles with other students has been on the increase. What drove these youngsters at primary and middle school to bring their lives to a premature end?
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No single answer
The suicide prevention guidelines define suicide as a death that results after a person has been driven into a corner psychologically due to a complex combination of various conditions, such as social factors. The guidelines spell out different approaches tailored for juvenile, middle-aged and elderly people.
In recent years, suicides committed by people who had been bullied, had been worn down caring for bedridden or unwell relatives, or to get insurance money to repay multiple debts have made headlines. The background surrounding each suicide case differs from one person to the next, including the situation at school or at home.
The basic law regarding suicide prevention measures states that collecting, analyzing and providing information on this issue is essential. The NPA plans to further examine the circumstances and motives that push people to commit suicide in a bid to grasp the overall background behind these deaths.
Accurately understanding the wide range of mental, societal, economic and other factors that led to previous suicides will help the government form detailed, effective measures that will help stop people from taking their own lives.
