Suicide in Japan: Part Ten - Youth and Rural Suicides on the Rise

J. Sean Curtin (Fellow, GLOCOM)

A full list of articles in this series can be found here.

This is the second in a series of articles examining the latest suicide statistics.

For those who research Japanese suicide trends, the recent sharp increase in the number of child deaths recorded in the latest suicide figures is perhaps one of its most troubling developments. It seems that almost every week there are several tragic cases involving school children either taking their own lives or being murdered by a mother or father before the parent commits suicide. The number of family murder-suicides family murder-suicides is not detailed in the current National Police Agency (NPA) figures, but their frequency appears to be growing. The latest statistics also show an alarming increase in the number of people committing suicide in rural Japan.

Youth suicide rising
The latest NPA data confirms that youth suicide is emerging as a serious social problem. The number of elementary and middle school pupils killing themselves is particularly worrying. The suicide rate for this group rose by a massive 57.6 percent, 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 percent. In total 225 young lives were lost in this age 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 percent.

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 years old, died from her injuries, while the other, 16 years old, 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, a retired local government official and volunteer suicide councilor, observes, "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 says, "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 adds, "[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?"

Yamauchi also comments, "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 that 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 suicides attempts.

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 volunteer suicide councilor, blames the government for the current crisis. He says with bitterness in his voice, "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 adds, "Almost everyone in rural Japan has lost someone to suicide. A good friend of mine took his life just last year. He owned a bar. Business had been bad for years as people have less money to spend these days. 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."

Many people believe the government lacks the political will necessary to tackle what is considered to be a socially sensitive issue, a situation which has allowed suicide rates to soar. The long downturn, emerging socio-economic trends and various cultural factors are combining to transform society, creating a less stable and more suicide-prone environment.

A summary of the latest suicide figures for 2003 can be found here.

A full list of articles in this series can be found here.

Related links

National Police Agency Suicide Report for 2003 (PDF Japanese)

Suicide also rises in the land of the rising sun
J. Sean Curtin, Asia Times, 28 July 2004

(Some parts of this article first appeared in Asia Times Online on 28 July 2004, http://www.atimes.com, and all those sections are republished with permission. Copyright of these particular section belongs to Asia Times Online Ltd.)