Japan to establish suicide-attempt database

Apr 19, 2022 | News On Japan

Apr 19, 2022 (postguam.com) - Japan's health ministry will establish a registry detailing suicide attempts in a bid to paint a clearer picture of the issue and provide greater support to people who have tried to take their own lives.

From this fiscal year, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will collect data on people who attempted to commit suicide and were taken to an emergency medical care center. Staffers at these facilities will ask details such as the person's gender, age and how they attempted to end their life. This information will be recorded in a manner that does not reveal the person's identity.

Suicide attempt survivors are said to have a high risk of trying again to kill themselves, so this registry will form the foundation for strengthened prevention measures. The ministry aims to eventually have all emergency medical care centers across Japan involved in the new initiative.

Research into possible issues that could arise when the registry is launched has been conducted at about 10 locations across Japan since September. The content of the questions has been carefully examined, and will check whether a suicide attempt survivor had used welfare services. Other questions include "Which staff member asked, and when, about the person's desire to die?" and "Was the person's case passed on to other entities such as a mental health and welfare center or child consultation center?"

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.