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Japan launches suicide prevention week

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19 Comments
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Must be all year around...

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Awareness posters... hmmm, let me see...... an AKB member looking sullen, with the text 'Jisatsu dame' in bold ?

3 ( +8 / -5 )

25,427: Number of people who took their lives in 2014. It was below a benchmark level of 30,000 for the third year in a row, with the decrease attributed to increased prevention efforts.

Wow! 30,000 deaths from suicide is considered a 'benchmark level'? It's food that the number has reduced 'slightly', but as far as I am concerned, 25,427 suicides is still 25,427 too many!

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

So many serious minded people in this customer-is-god culture. Shinbo, quiet perseverance is still much revered virtue. No matter what government does one can't change one's spots especially when he feels like he's driven into a corner.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I can't imagine how tough it is to fight with centuries of history glorifying suicide.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

Life is never going to be easy for anyone, but you can learn from your past, live in the present, and work to better your future. No matter who you are or how suicidal you feel, there is treasure on your inside. You are completely unique and have a gift to offer the world that is completely unique. Leaving the world prematurely by taking your own life will also be taking the gift that you were meant to share with others, and ultimately this world will not be bright as it was meant to be. If you kill yourself, you're also going to kill the people who love you.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

139: Number of suicides linked to the March, 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami.

I wish the folks who were posting here about no deaths related to 3.11 (suicides) would come back here and eat some crow for their adamant commentary that TEPCO had no part in folks dying.

Consider that these lives, many of them could have been saved IF TEPCO and company had just done their jobs.

Money more important than life!

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Not intending to marginalise a sensitive issue but the real face of Japanese suicide is ill old men in their 60s and 70s.

They are too unwell to care for themselves, cannot afford the treatment, have nobody to assist them or don't want to burden others. Sadly, they are usually seen as not very tragic or easily forgotten. Suicide prevention methods aren't as effective on older men with terminal cancer living alone.

Young people taking their own lives due to bullying or social pressure is the traditional image of Japanese suicide but these make up a relatively small percentage.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

The fact is most suicide is preventable, and the main step in prevention is to recognize the many warning signs such as withdrawal and isolation from family, peers, use of alcohol, drugs, increased irritability, giving away possessions, discussion of suicide, and changes in sleep or appetite etc. You may think someone else's problems are none of your business. But the act of taking one's life is truly a tragedy because this single act leaves so many victims. First the one who dies, then the dozens of others, family and friends who are left behind, some to face years of deep pain and confusion. The living victims struggle, often desperately, with difficult emotions. In addition to the feelings of grief, anger, guilt, and rejection which the victims of such family feel. In the end the pain and suffering of suicide resonates deeply in the family, friends, and co-workers of the deceased.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

30,000 deaths from suicide is considered a 'benchmark level' Sounds like Japan is disappointed the numbers were not higher! Is this considered Japans new way of population control!!

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

I wish the folks who were posting here about no deaths related to 3.11 (suicides) would come back here and eat some crow for their adamant commentary that TEPCO had no part in folks dying.

Have you forgotten that 3.11 was not just about Fukushima and that about 16,000 people died due to the tsunami? Thousands more were injured, lost loved ones, lost their homes, and lost their livelihoods. While I'm sure some of the suicides were related to the Fukushima incident, the article makes no mention of that. Your comment is ignorant and disrespectful.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

albaleo: If you accept that some suicides were due to TEPCO's incompetence and willful negligence then you also admit that Yubaru's comment is valid.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

An interesting article with a number of interesting statistics.

Suicide is not uniform and it cannot be boiled down to simple cliches. However, it is also clear that the drivers of suicide for certain segments of the population are actually pretty well known, even it they are not easily dealt with.

One thing that I worry about and a statistic that I am afraid will only deteriorate is the number of suicides, suicide rate and overall percentage of suicides for the elderly. With the ageing population and with the breakdown in multi-generational homes, I am truly fearful that these numbers will head in the wrong direction in a really bad way.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Scrote

No, I don't accept it as valid. I don't recall any "adamant comment" from posters here about TEPCO's lack of responsibility. What I have read is that some posters have said, when put in perspective, the Fukushima incident is relatively small in comparison to the wider tragedy of the tsunami. (i.e. no direct deaths) Whether you agree with that view or not, it seems a reasonable opinion, and certainly not deserving of Yubaru's comment. I don't see why anyone should eat crow.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

30,000 per year is shocking, but what isn't mentioned is that an estimated 60,000+ attempt suicide each year. I've dealt with professionals in health care and they tell me that they're seriously underresourced, underfunded & understaffed. Japan spends 10% of its GDP on the healthcare system, yet its track record with mental health services & awareness campaigns is atrocious. Occupational therapists tell me that even elementary school kids are suffering depression. The sad truth is, Japanese society will always view mental illness as a character weakness. Don't even get me started on the rainbows & lollipops BS image that gets rammed down our throats through the Japanese media (TV being the worst offender).

2 ( +3 / -1 )

None of these measures seem to be attacking the reasons and causes though. While they remain you'll never solve anything. Japan should be asking itself why the rate is so high, not just "raising awareness" of suicide, whatever that actually entails, as I'm sure most people in Japan are "aware" of it.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

This is a world issue with many landmark buildings lit up Orange in Ireland & Britian , some people here need to take their tunnel vision blinkers off, it's not just a Japan problem

0 ( +0 / -0 )

So long as suicide is seen as the "problem" then suicide will continue to happen at high rates in Japan. As oikawa said, it's all the actual factors that need to be engaged with instead of raising 'awareness' about suicide itself.

An unhealthy work culture. An endemic propensity to harassment at almost every stage of life. A bleak economic and social outlook for the future.

These are the primary factors in the high suicide rates.

And even though the number of people committing suicide has been dropping the population has been dropping faster so the rate hasn't changed much in actuality.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

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