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Women are not only bearing the brunt of job losses, but also the pressure of additional household chores. A spate of high profile celebrity suicides is also an influencing factor, most likely exacerbated by the on-going stigma surrounding mental health issues in Japan.

13 Comments

Michiko Ueda, an associate political sciences professor at Waseda University in Tokyo. In Japan, the number of suicides in October alone was 2,153 - eclipsing the nation’s COVID-19 death toll of 2,141 for the entire year. The stand-out demographic in the soaring figures was young women, where the rate among the under-40s was double the mean average for the last three years.

© The Telegraph

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The highest level achieved by the mental health industry is observation and categorisation. As for doing anything about it, they are completely clueless.

This lady is a professor. What's the point of teaching a subject that recognises the situation but cannot actually DO anything?

It's rather like teaching about all the things that can go wrong with cars and not teaching how to repair them.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

BertieWooster* exactly. If there is little to no action then there is little use of words. Recognizing problems is only the first step, to do anything about them takes resolve, courage and a strong will, none of which are in abundance here unfortunately. Expediency reigns supreme, as well as ignoring the many elephants in the room!

Task-based education may help in the future. Practicing difficult conversations would help too.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

This isn’t about mental health. This is about the part of Japanese culture that tells people it’s not right to not feel right. Change the abysmally archaic thinking and you’ll fix people’s problems

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Most of these socalled helplines are not only useless but dangerous. Staffed by barely, if at all, qualified volunteers offering no practical help at al. But many of the “ managers” do well out of it, never forget to pay themselves.

The people calling these lines all the time get “ I wish I could help you”, “ let me refer you” , “ we don’t handle this problem “ , sympathy they get enough, help they don’t.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I think too many people are drugged up on psychotropics and should not be. It seems that many so called mental health issues are from immaturity.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I cannot help but wonder if this is broadly found in all animals? We do see stress in caged up animals. Perhaps tiny apartments and being told to not go out, while those in power eat steak with friends could be the issue here?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I know some people don't like to compare rates of things with other nations, but this is one where it could actually point to a problem and help with a solution. Social stigma is obviously the biggest barrier here to seeking and getting the help people need. Second is providing that help. A one-day a week 24-hour hotline doesn't help, especially when glorified and made cute by the government and using AKB or what have you. Next is the still-ingrained concept of suicide as an acceptable way out for many. A good start to putting an end to this is eliminating and life-insurance benefits to a family of a person who commits suicide. When suicide is determined, all life insurance should become void. Most countries, to my knowledge, already do this. We also need to start getting men to do more around the house -- and part of this comes in with companies allowing people home earlier, paternity leave (not the joke of two weeks that it is now), and treating women better in general and as equals. There's a reason why Japan ranks pretty much dead last in gender equality.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Who’s good at handing out often will also have to learn to pocket in sometimes.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What a bad situation.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

sympathy they get enough, help they don’t.

How do you know the person is getting enough sympathy?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This isn’t just happening in Japan. In the U.K. women have been most likely to lose their job and have taken on extra home and childcare during the pandemic.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

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