Suicides in Japan hit a 20-year low

Jun 29, 2017 | News On Japan

Jun 29, 2017 (economist.com) - Even though the national suicide rate has fallen by 30% since 2003, its current mark of 18.5 per 100,000 remains the third-highest in the OECD, a rich-country club.

In Japan, economic suffering seems to contribute to higher rates of suicide. After the collapse of the country's economic bubble of the 1980s, many Japanese companies underwent painful risutora, or restructuring. As the country's slowdown worsened during the 1990s, suicides spiked, particularly among middle-aged men who had expected lifetime employment at their firms. In 1998, when the Japanese economy fell into outright recession, suicides jumped 35% to over 32,000.

According to the National Police Agency, suicides stemming from economic difficulties accounted for nearly one in five such deaths. A study published in 2007 estimated that every one percentage point increase in the Japanese unemployment rate is associated with an additional 4,800 suicides.

Japan's government has made reducing suicides a priority. In 2007, authorities set a goal of reducing the country's suicide rate by 20% over ten years and committed $220m to prevention measures such as better workplace counselling. This month, the government set a new target of reducing the suicide rate by another 30% over the next decade.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.