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3.8 Japanese Committed Suicide Every Hour in 2010

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Tokyo- (PanOrient News) The Japanese Police Agency said 31,560 people committed suicide last year in Japan, with an average of 87.6 suicide every day, raising renewed concerns about the total, which continues to be over the socially-sensitive number of 30,000 suicides annually.

The agency noted, however, that the total for 2010 is 3.9% less than the number of suicides in 2009.

In 2010, the number of male suicides decreased by 5.5% to 22,178, while that of women increased by 0.1% to 9,382.

Monday, the first day after the weekend, was the day of the week when most decided to take their lives, according to the agency.

The main reasons for suicides in Japan are usually financial, especially for the employees in the sectors that are suffering most due to economic and financial difficulties. Not being able to pay back loans, exhaustion of overwork, and worries about the future, were specifically cited by social experts.

The number of young people, those who are 18 and under, committed suicide is also high in Japan due to childhood trauma according to experts at the Suicide Prevention Center in Tokyo.

Japanese government said it will focus more on preventive measures for people who are at high risk of committing suicide, such as those who are suffering from depression.

March witnessed the highest number of suicides in 2010 with 2,947 killing themselves. Analysts say it might be related to the difficulties associated with the new fiscal year in Japan, which starts in April, the month when a new employment and a new academic year start. Those who don't get jobs or fail in the universities entrance exams may suffer depression according to experts.

In July alone, 879 women committed suicide, the highest in the year. However, December had the least number of suicides in 2010, or 2,418 (men 1657 and women 761). This is the same as for 2009.

By prefecture, Tokyo had the most suicides with 2,938, followed by Osaka where 2,031 people took their own lives last year.

PanOrient News



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