maxxam80
July 24th, 2004, 09:56 PM
Unemployment and financial problems are partly to blame
The number of suicides in Japan has risen to its highest level since records began.
More than 34,000 Japanese took their own lives in 2003, according to the National Police Agency - an increase of more than 7% from the previous year.
Three-quarters of those who committed suicide were male, and a third were aged over 60.
Experts believe that health problems were the main reason, followed by economic pressures.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said there were no quick remedies for dealing with suicide, but his government would continue its efforts to improve the economic situation.
Twenty-seven out of every 100,000 people in Japan commit suicide, according to the latest figures - one of the highest rates in the world.
The figures are the highest recorded since police began collating suicide statistics in 1978.
Health problems accounted for almost 45% of suicides, but more than a quarter of cases were due to economic and financial troubles, a police spokesman said.
A record 11,500 people aged 60 or older took their own lives. But more younger people are also committing suicide, the report showed.
Among people aged 19 or younger, figures jumped 22%. Among primary and middle school pupils rates rose by almost 60%.
"Children are very easily influenced by their surroundings," said Yukio Saito, head of the Inochi no Denwa - Phone of Life - hotline. "If adult suicides rise, child suicides will also increase."
Less stigma
In an editorial on Friday, Yomiuri newspaper called for the government to do more to understand why the Japanese are more prone to killing themselves than other people.
"We cannot avoid stress in our daily lives, but it is important to examine the causes of stress," the Yomiuri said. "We must consider society as a whole when we examine why this terrible situation has come about."
One reason for the high suicide rate could be the fact that it is not as culturally taboo as it is in the West, and can even be viewed as an honourable way of taking responsibility for failure.
A recent Health Ministry report showed that suicide in Japan was the sixth most common cause of death - after cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.
lumpia
July 25th, 2004, 12:43 AM
i think its due to the overwhelming tiers within society too: the personal barriers ppl put up to other etc, and the typical Nihonjin trait of keeping all personal frustration bottled up and the impoliteness of "imposing urself" on other peoples "private space". for instance, touching others is considered extremely intimate in Japan, and so is giving out ur phone number. Listening to others is considered to be better than talking to others. Japan might have to change its outlook on other people and on a personal level on themselves. The problem i think is Socio-Psychological: Japanese society as a whole has to change the attitude towards its look on where personal or mental problems stand on the importance-meter: not just individual thinking, but the social system, backed by the govt and support organisations. Only then, i believe, will we see these disturbing trends decrease in number :(
Isan
July 28th, 2004, 05:24 PM
Asia Times Wednesday 28th July, 2004
Japan has been stricken by an epidemic of suicides cutting across all social strata and age groups, according to recently released statistics for 2003.
Every day nearly 100 people take their own lives, at a rate of almost one every 15 minutes. And the long economic slump is a factor. Despite recent signs of economic recovery, the good news hasn't yet touched the lives of those who leap off buildings, hurl themselves in front of trains, apparently in droves, or hang themselves.
'All that's left are endless bankruptcies, chronic unemployment, high suicide rates and a lot of despair,' one retired rural official told Asia Times Online.
Since 2003, the Aokigahara woods at the base of Mount Fuji have been known as the 'suicide forest' because 78 middle-aged men apparently committed suicide by hanging themselves from tree branches. Experts cite unemployment, bankruptcies and other economic problems as major reasons for the deaths.
Some of the dominant economic factors that have contributed to the current suicide crisis include large-scale bankruptcies, increased unemployment, a sluggish business climate, accumulated debts, lower incomes, inadequate bankruptcy laws, prolonged economic stagnation, an unregulated financial loan market and corporate restructuring. Ill-health, despair and other problems plague the nation of 127 million, the world's second-biggest economy.
The total number of Japanese suicides is roughly equal to that of the entire United States, a country that has more than twice Japan's population. To put the latest data in context, in today's Japan one is roughly five times as likely to die by one's own hand as to be killed in a traffic accident.
Some cultural factors exacerbate the problem: lack of religious prohibition against suicide, reluctance to discuss mental health and stress-related problems, a literary tradition that romanticizes suicide, a view of suicide as an honorable act, a way of taking responsibility for failure, among other issues. The breakdown of family and social networks and the increasing isolation of individuals contribute to the problem.
The figures for 2003 paint an exceedingly grim picture, showing that a record 34,427 Japanese men and women took their own lives last year. According to the latest statistics from the National Police Agency (NPA), the number of suicides has increased by 7.1%, or 2,284 more lives lost than in 2002. Many people believe the long recession is a key factor behind the rise.
Especially troubling is the steep increase in the number of people in their 30s taking their own lives. The death toll for this age bracket reached 4,603, an increase of 17%, translating into 668 more cases than in the previous year.
As in other countries, men are far more likely to take their own lives than women, and men account for a staggering 73% of all suicides in Japan. Suicide by the elderly, 33.5%, and by people with financial problems, 25.8%, account for the two largest non-gender groupings. There has also been an alarming surge in the number of children committing suicide.
Financially related suicides up
Japanese suicide rates have been high since 1998, when a surge in bankruptcies and unemployment generated a big upswing in people taking their lives for financial reasons. In the decade leading up to 1997, the number of people who killed themselves hovered in a relatively low range of between 15,000 and 25,000 a year. In 1998, suicide broke the 30,000 threshold and has remained high ever since.
The latest figures also reveal that there were 8,897 money-related suicides, a rise of 12.1% from the 2002 level, which translates into an additional 957 deaths and marks the first time the 8,000 barrier has been exceeded for this category.
The NPA statistics attributed 25.8% of all suicides to money problems. Of these, 5,043 cases were classified as being due to difficulty in paying debts, an increase of 900 or 21.7%. A further 1,321 cases, a rise of 153, were due to other financial difficulties, such as bankruptcies or poor business performance.
Suicide due to failure to gain employment totaled 183 people, up 18.1% from 2002. Although Japan's long recession appears to be finally ending, the financial turmoil and despair it has created shows little sign of abating.
Suicide destroying rural Japan
Like a virulent biblical plague, for the past seven years suicide has ravaged Japanese society, especially rural areas. Hiroshi Sakamoto, a retired local-government official and volunteer suicide councilor, bitterly blames the government for the current crisis. He told Asia Times Online, 'Suicide has caused so much pain and damage to the less economically developed regions of Japan. Yet the government has done nothing. It feels like Tokyo just doesn't care about people living in small cities and towns. We simply don't count because we don't live in big cities. Regions like Hokkaido have been decimated by the recession.
'All that's left are endless bankruptcies, chronic unemployment, high suicide rates and a lot of despair.'
Sakamoto added, 'Almost everyone in rural Japan has lost someone to suicide.' He said a close friend took his life last year. He owned a bar, and business had been bad for years since people had less money to spend. His debts mounted and his business, his life's work, began to fail. 'He just could not take it, and took his life. Every week this kind of sad tale is repeated hundreds of times in Hokkaido and all over rural Japan,' Sakamoto said.
Many people believe the government lacks the political will to tackle the socially sensitive issue, a situation that has allowed suicide rates to soar. The long economic downturn, changing socio-economic trends and various cultural factors combine to transform society, creating a less stable and more suicide-prone environment.
Youth suicide rising
The recent sharp increase in the number of child deaths is one of the most troubling developments. It seems that almost every week there are several tragic cases involving schoolchildren either taking their own lives or being murdered by a mother or father before the despairing parent commits suicide. The number of family murder-suicides is not detailed in the current NPA figures, but news and other reports indicate their frequency is growing.
The latest NPA data confirm that suicide by elementary- and middle-school students is a serious social problem. The suicide rate for this group rose by a massive 57.6%, representing a total of 93 innocent lives lost, 34 more than in 2002. Among high-school students there was also a sharp rise of 29.3%. In total, 225 young lives were lost in this category. There was also an increase in the number of college students killing themselves. The overall suicide rate among people aged 19 or younger rose by 22%.
Experts say that young people who commit suicide are greatly influenced by adults who take their own lives and the publicity surrounding the deaths. The stress and competition in school for jobs that may no longer exist have also been documented.
Just a day before the NPA published its latest figures, the national press reported yet another tragic double suicide attempt by school friends. On this occasion, two high-school girls tried to kill themselves by jumping off the roof of a supermarket in Kashiwazaki, Niigata prefecture. One of the girls, just 15, died, while her friend, 16, survived.
Sadly, youth suicide appears to have become such a common phenomenon that it no longer grabs press attention and reports are usually consigned to the back pages of newspapers.
Hiroshi Sakamoto observed, 'We only read about suicide in the press, it is never on TV. They say it is too gloomy, too dark, not a happy subject. I feel the whole country is in a state of denial. This is perhaps why we cannot solve this problem. We are trying to ignore it, but wishing it away gets us nowhere.'
Keiko Yamauchi, a former Social Democratic Party lawmaker and elementary-school teacher, has devoted much of her life to trying to improve the school environment for children. She said, 'What happens in the adult world also has a deep impact on our children. We have a terrible suicide problem, and now we are beginning to see exactly the same trend replicate itself amongst our children.'
She added that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi 'has completely failed to address this life-or-death matter. How many children, young people, fathers or mothers have to die before our government takes any real action? Instead of wasting so much energy and national resources in assisting in the destruction of human life in Iraq, why doesn't Koizumi declare war on suicide in Japan and save thousands of lives in this country?'
Yamauchi also commented, 'We must urgently tackle the suicide issue, which is destroying the fabric of our society. We need to act immediately and take concrete suicide-prevention measures. At the same time, we must also try to create a more human and caring environment for our children and their parents.'
Many experts think the sharp rise in adult suicide is influencing the surge seen in child suicide rates. Some believe that insensitive media reports of suicides combined with high-profile coverage of celebrity suicides encourages some children to make copycat suicide attempts.
Elderly suicide rate the highest
As in previous surveys, the highest incidence of suicide was found amongst the elderly. The new NPA data register a record 11,529 people aged 60 years or older who took their own lives in 2003. This group accounted for an astonishing 33.5% of all cases, and was closely followed by people in their 50s, who represented 8,614 cases or 25% of all suicides.
The new statistics also marked a steep increase in the number of people in their 30s taking their own lives. The death toll for this age bracket reached 4,603, an increase of 17%, translating into 668 more cases than in the previous year.
The NPA determined that health-related problems were the predominant motive behind the majority of elderly suicides. According to the NPA statistics for 2003, a total of 15,416 people from all age groups killed themselves because of illness or health-related problems, representing an increase of 4.1% from the previous year.
International comparisons
Expressed in the international measurement for suicide, 27 out of every 100,000 Japanese people now take their own lives, giving Japan one of the highest rates among industrially advanced countries. Japan's current ratio of suicide to population size is about double that found in the United States or most European Union countries.
Based on provisional data for 2003, Japanese male and female suicide rates per 100,000 people are now roughly 40.2 for men and 14.9 for women, approaching levels normally witnessed in countries suffering severe economic hardships such as Russia, Latvia or Lithuania.
For most Japanese, these dreadful statistics will come as little surprise. They have no need to read an official analysis - just picking up a daily newspaper provides a stream of disturbing suicide reports.
Explaining the rise in suicide
Explaining the explosion in suicide is a highly complex task for which there is no shortage of elaborate theories, but in reality no easy answers. The fundamental causes lie in a highly complex weave of social and economic factors. For more than a decade, powerful socio-economic forces have been reshaping society. A great many of these currents have been generated by the long economic downturn, or at least strongly influenced by it. Economic factors such as bankruptcies, unemployment and high debt have been cited.
These economic elements have been exacerbated by various cultural traits and customs, making it especially difficult for Japan to deal with the fallout from the increased stress levels and higher incidences of mental-health problems induced by the lengthy recession. All these outlined elements have been compounded by inadequate suicide-prevention measures and a lack of effective government policy.
Will suicides continue to rise?
Michael Zielenziger, a former Tokyo-based foreign correspondent now a visiting scholar at University of California, Berkeley, has been researching Japanese suicide trends for his forthcoming book, Shutting Out the Sun. Zielenziger is concerned by the latest suicide figures.
'These worrying statistics demonstrate that Japanese society and its leaders have not done enough to consider the fruits of their economic prosperity,' he told Asia Times Online. 'Now that Japan is a wealthy country, its citizens are searching for greater meaning.' He added, 'The nation's schools and workplaces need to demonstrate more willingness to educate and openly discuss issues like stress and depression, which often lead to suicide.'
Zielenziger also believes that the medical establishment needs to do more to tackle suicide. 'The nation's medical community must become proactive and demand access to the cutting-edge anti-depressants, the SSRIs [selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors] like Prozac, that are readily available in Western nations but not yet legal in Japan,' he said.
Koizumi does not appear to have examined the issue in any great detail, but has said there are no easy solutions for dealing with the suicide crisis. He has largely shied away from investing in effective suicide-prevention measures.
In sharp contrast to its suicide policy, the state has spent billions of yen on road-safety measures to reduce the death toll from traffic accidents. Consequently, while all Japanese prefectures have highly sophisticated road-safety procedures, many lack comprehensive suicide prevention networks. NPA figures for 2003 show 7,702 people were killed on the roads, while 34,427 took their own lives.
Koizumi says the government's efforts to improve the economic climate will eventually reduce suicide levels. The unemployment rate has dropped to 5.3% and bankruptcies appear to be down for the first time in four years. Some suicide experts agree with Koizumi's prognosis and think a gradual economic upturn will finally stem the merciless suicide tide. They believe the 2003 figures may represent a suicide peak.
However, suicide has become such a widespread social phenomenon that it may well take some years before numbers begin to fall back, even if a solid recovery sets in.
Hiroshi Sakamoto, the former government official and suicide councilor, is not optimistic, 'I do not believe we will see any drop in suicide rates in 2004. In fact, I think they will increase. Until we stop denying the reality of the situation, I don't think Japanese society can overcome the crisis it is facing.'
Rapid
August 12th, 2004, 03:40 AM
How can people live in a city like that if so many are commiting suicide?
"Excuse me passengers, there is a delay. Dont worry, we will be back up shortly, someone only jumped infront of the train.
Japan needs to change it's social ways.
lumpia
August 12th, 2004, 05:44 AM
Before making some statement, make sure the statistics well. See this website(http://forum.japantoday.com/Suicide_stereotype/m_12541/tm.htm). Many statistics figures show that there is not much difference about suicidal rate betwen Japan and other countries. The impression about Harakiri makes people to believe that Japanese is suicidal. This is one of those stereotypes.
exactly
noone is stereotyping anybody here, so dont even think of playin Mr Self-Righteous here mate! its just the truth. No one would put it in the news if it didnt have a grain of truth in them OK. if they did then let the Japanese govt sue them! Seppuku/Harakiri may or may not have anything to do with this issue here, but Suicide rates are an issue of concern k. No one even MENTIONED Harakiri as a reason!
what do u think of my comment before ur criticisms then? does me being a non-japanese "Gaikokujin" mean that i somehow cannot understand what is goin on in Japanese society?? is Japanese society so exclusively misunderstood that only Japanese people and U can understand it?? thats even more prejudice than thinkin its all because of some archaic custom that noone seldom does anymore.. stress and social pressure is occurent in ALL societies. i'm only sayin that its more intense in Japanese Society because of their traditional values of discretion when it comes to personal probs.. look, EVERY society has its trad values that affect its modern outlook: look at Saudi Arabia, US or China: they contrast vastly socially party due to the cultural tuning of the people themselves.. why not Japan?? is it THAT misunderstood that we have to be corrected everytime we say something about it? "stereotypes"?? Gatagata itten janai zo! :bash:
Bond James Bond
August 12th, 2004, 06:18 AM
34,427 / 127,300,000 = 27 suicides / 100,000 people.
Sad. Japan's suicide rate is almost as high as St. Louis' murder rate. :(
(no, I am not equating the 2 crimes, I was just curious)
strandk
August 12th, 2004, 06:37 AM
If you see the suicide rate ten years ago, there were not much difference between Japan and many other countries. So the current high suicide rate is possibly happening because of the current economical situations. But your ideas are more about the infuluence of Japanese culture on the high suicide rate. How do you explain this discrepancy? For example, the suicide rate in northern Europe is traditionally high. Maybe you can say that their atheist Protestant value increases the number of suicide rate. In USA the suicide rate is low because of religious society? Then your suggestion is to go for Christianity?
One of the big problems of these lines of reasonings is that it is very difficult to attribute any of the psychological factos to the social trends. This is where analysis of social sciences in general fails.
I understand that it is good for any society to transform into the better one. I have never thought that foreigners cannot make any good comments about the other countries. Foreigners' point of views can reveal some new aspects once in a while.
However, as I said, if you look at the statistics more closely, it is very difficult to say that Japanese society is instrumental in raising suicide rate. You are making your point without doing critical analysis of data. This is what I meant.
The criminal rate of murdurs and rapes are significantly higher in USA than in Japan. The trend stays the same over the year. Ant the difference is significantly more than two-fold. In this case it is fine to make some social analysis. However, it is still difficult to say that Americans are more dangerous and sexually-abusive than Japanese. In USA pornography is free, while there are many restrictions in Japan. Is it the reason? So some might want to say that there are some Japanese movies with SM scenes. But actually there are many SM spots in USA as well. You even can start racistic remarks as well. And so on.... Frankly I wouldn't say that Americans are more dangerous and sexually-abusive than Japanese.
I am not making a point only about your comments. I think that there is a flaw in the news paper article in this thread as well. In this kind of analysis, there is already a preconceptual idea before they start the analysis. I say that this is a streotype.
Have you ever read any newspapers in USA? So called world-leading newspapers such as New York Times and Washington Post carry many rediculous articles and comments everywhere. There is an agenda before making comments.
I know that there is some closed feeling about Japanese society. But I heard from some Chilian people that Japanese look closed outside but they are actually open inside. They said that the relationship between Japenese and Chileans were very good. How do you think about their comments? I don't know about your relationship with Japanese. Actually even your relationship with Japanese can affect your view point. This is another reservation about your comments. I don't know what kind person you are. But if I make some conclusions from your WOWPHILIPPINES, I assume that you are very nationalistic. Am I wrong? So if this is the case, this also affects your comment.
This is why you have to make analysis about your date more critically. Your analysis has flaws. Any social analysis is a very difficult issue for many professinals. Many scholars are arguing about this themes over the year without conclusive ideas.
ViMo
August 12th, 2004, 04:56 PM
Atleast this goes to show how in modern society everything is measured by the economic parameter. This is sickening! If Japan and US are anything to go by, then I shudder to think what will happen in billion plus societies like India and China, as economic development takes root?
Rail Claimore
August 19th, 2004, 09:34 PM
Japanese society from my personal experience is more open than people give it credit for. It's just that the perceived notion of a closed society and the language barrier that keeps people from doing so. I have some friends in Japan and get treated with the utmost politeness and respect from people there, and it helps that I know quite a bit of Japanese as well. I think that's important for ANY foreign country you go to that does not speak your native language and shares different cultural customs. And it's more of something to consider with older cultures such as Japanese or European than it is with younger ones like American, Canadian, or Australian.
Thunderflip
August 21st, 2004, 07:28 PM
If you will look closer, it is usually highly developed countries that have high suicide rates: Finland,Japan,Germany,France,USA and the UK are among the world`s highest.
But among the world`s lowest is Brazil,Mexico etc.
How can people in Japan take their lives due to economic and financial reasons if there are many third world countries that face even more harsh stuff? Japan has everything, it is a highly developed and industrialized country but maybe I think that it has something to do with the society, personal life, if u get what i mean.Our lives must have some challenge, excitement and adventure.If everything in a society is so perfect, then what is the sense of living? Soccer for example, if you want to play a good game, you must have opponents to hinder you from shooting a goal. but if you play all alone, then it is not a game anymore.I also notice that in Japan, people have an attitude that is very mysterious to other societies. Why are non-Japanese always being iscolated in Japan, they seem to be ignored.People cannot live if they don`t relate with other people.Why would you rather listen to people than talk to them personally? Japan has the luck that it is highly developed, what if Japan was an impoverished third world country with the society same current attitude, how would it move on without foreign interaction?
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