Suicide in Japan: Part Fourteen - Youth Suicide in the International Context
J. Sean Curtin (Fellow, GLOCOM) and Earl H. Kinmonth (Professor, Taisho University)
A full list of articles in this series can be found here.
This is the sixth in a series of articles examining the latest suicide statistics.
In this article Earl Kinmonth and Sean Curtin discuss how youth suicide in Japan should be seen in the international context.
Earl Kinmonth: Earlier in this series you wrote, "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. Presumably you are aware that there is considerable controversy in Britain over media depictions of suicide and the documented increase in attempted suicides that follows these depictions.
Sean Curtin: Yes, I am aware and touched on this issue in an earlier article. I wrote, "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." The situation in Japan is very similar to the ones researchers have identified in the UK and other EU countries.
Earl Kinmonth: You also wrote, "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. According to a [11 September 2002] Guardian article, "Globally, suicide is already among the top 10 causes of death and is one of three leading causes in the 15-34 age group. In England, it is the commonest cause among men under 35." Sounds like Japan is becoming more like Britain i.e., "normal" and "Western."
Sean Curtin: The most alarming aspect about the Japanese figures is the increase in suicide amongst the very young. I tried to emphasize this point in the series writing, "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."
I would say that the increase in the number of very young people killing themselves is a cause for deep concern and definitely not the norm in other industrially advanced countries. Compare the UK suicide rate with the Japanese rate over the past five years and you will clearly see that Japan has a serious problem. Even though they may only provide a very rough set of data, the international figures clearly indicate that Japan has been moving rapidly away from the norm since about 1998, which is another reason to be exceedingly troubled by the latest figures.
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
Suicides Reach Record High in 2003
Social Trends: Series #77, GLOCOM Platform, 5 August 2004
Youth and Rural Suicides on the Rise
Social Trends: Series #78, GLOCOM Platform, 13 August 2004
Comparing International Rates of Suicide
Social Trends: Series #79, GLOCOM Platform, 18 August 2004
Suicide in Japan: Part Four - Determining Suicide as the Cause of Death
J. Sean Curtin, Social Trends: Series #66, GLOCOM Platform, 13 January 2004
Stigma ties: Can changes in public policy have an impact on reducing suicides in Britain?
Angela Lambert, 11 September 2002, The Guardian
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