Society

Suicides rising in Japan

Oct 13 (NHK) - More than 1,800 people committed suicide in Japan last month. Officials say the number of suicides rose during each of the last three months compared to the same months in 2019.

The National Police Agency says a total of 1,805 people took their own lives across the country in September. That marks an increase of 143, or 8.6 percent, compared to the same month last year.

The number of men who committed suicide was 1,166. That's up 0.4 percent from a year earlier. The number of women who took their own lives was 639. That's an increase of 27.5 percent.

Tokyo tops the list with 194 suicides. In neighboring Saitama Prefecture, there were 110. In Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, there were 109. In Kanagawa Prefecture, which also neighbors Tokyo, there were 95.

The Japanese government is trying to determine whether the increase in suicides is linked to the spread of the new coronavirus.

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