Suicides in Japan increase in 2022; 1st rise among men in 13 years

That’s a depressing statistic, but the all in compassing social pressure. It’s obviously a society that are more concerned with looks rather than fact. So suicide is socially acceptable as there is no other way out.

I know I've said this before but when these numbers get posted annually but the suicide number is probably higher when you figure in the number of people who just "go missing" every year. A police chief once told me about this.

Yes my brother in law hung himself in May..left behind a wife and two young kids ... Shockingly sad.

Very sorry to hear that @dan It's so important to talk, listen and ask "are you ok?"

I don't know what to believe.

According to this site

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/suicide-rate-by-country

The suicide rate in Japan is

M: 21.8. F: 9.2 combined 15.3

Compared that to the USA

M: 25. F:7.5 combined: 16.1

Now rates in other western developed countries are fairly similar with most of Europe being between 12 and 16 combined ( Italy and Spain outliers with 7) the rest basically 16 to 20 for men.

So in the developed world it seems the USA and Japan are higher than the rest (South Korea is off the charts with M 40.2 F 16.9 combined 28.6)

The most interesting thing about these numbers in Japan and the rest is that if the number for Female goes up well will hear about the "epidemic" of female suicide.

But men kill themselves a 2 to 3 times that of women and rarely do we hear about it being an urgent crisis.

dan

sorry, that must be sad and painful for all of your family.

Talk therapy and existential crises are causes, but most reasons for suicide are far more prosaic.

https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/case-deaton-deaths-of-despair-book-review/

Fits with most I know anecdotally.

It was very sad...thanks for your kind comments all.

The week after his death my father in law died of cancer so there was 2 funerals in under a week.

A very painful 2022 glad it's over.

Dan, one thing after another, are you ok? Processing that trauma is not easy. My father died when I was a teenager, 35 years later I still cry if something reminds me. Talk to someone don’t pass the pain down.

Until ten years ago more than 30,000 people killed themselves every year. Now it’s down to just over 20,000 annually. Maybe people have become less susceptible to pressure

indeed inflation may have contributed particularly for low pay salarymen and pensioner with tiny pensions .

How sad

Numbers remained elevated for the past few years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Was the cure worse than the disease? Looks like it if you include the rest of the negative social and economic fallout of the overreaction.

I’ve noticed that people here have a tendency not to ask others for help as they feel that they are being a burden.

I have been told that one of the most important things in life here is not to cause trouble to others.

Is this one of the causes of a relative high and increasing suicide rate?

I am living in Japan since April 2019. It is very strange, lived in Yokohama, Saitama, now in Aichi, in all buildings did not know the neighbors, rarely see them, and noticed lots of workmates that come in silence, work mute and go home without saying a word. Can clearly see that there are many solitary people at work, or even walking alone, playing alone, eating alone. A crowd of solitary people suffering in silence. No violent crime, but, high depression that lead to self murder, a very sad reality.

It’s still a lot but it’s not the 30,000+ of a decade ago.

Governments need to support Men more. Help Men more. Care for Men the same way they are obsessed with taking care of women or promoting women.

In 2023 Men are attacked and bashed on a weekly basis. Expectations from women have changed in 2023. Expectations for Men Have Not Changed but stayed the same!

They still expect Men to pay for everything.

They still expect Men to fight the wars. Be drafted in the military, Sacrifice yourself for the country, have a house/apartment, maybe a car, in shape, tall, strong, can you cook? Can you clean? Can you work 14 hours a day, then come home and help with kids and cook for stay at home mom. Ridiculous Expectations pushed upon Men! ! !

Women in 2023, You should have no Expectations from. No standards for women, Can't tell women to have kids, can't tell them to cook or clean, she can be married and divorced before, have a long list of partners, work in the hostess industry or OnlyFans, anything they do is perfectly fine and acceptable, and if you say otherwise it's sexist towards women, but apparently never sexist towards Men.

Once one gets left behind and alone without money ot healht the mind starts thinking about suicide, by hanging in a toilet room with a warning written on paper at the door and in a hotel to be found in a day. Just don't do it is the best option.

Yes, it’s very hard for men to accept the new role, something like dishwashing standing behind the kitchen sink or similar, with less or no relevance in society and less or insufficient income on average, compared to the former societies when men were the only family income maker with big paychecks and status symbols like a car that one still could call a car, bar visits, expensive travels etc, everything fine and from only one and own income, which is nearly impossible nowadays. Not everyone can stand it the new way and a few, like those mentioned above, just have realized that there’s no future for men and therefore even intentionally shorten this hidden torture timeframe the hard and tragic way.

@Cricky

Extremely sad to hear of your dad's passing...My condolences.

It must have been extraordinarily hard growing up without him.

I am so sorry...