Japan Suicide
Japan Suicide Reports
Mondays see most suicides; men tend to pick 5 a.m., women noon
"Mondays had the most suicides in Japan in 2003, with the most common hour being around 5 a.m. for men and around noon for women, an analysis by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed Friday...
The ministry said men tended to commit suicide in the early morning, apparently wanting to avoid being noticed by others, while women did so around noon when they were alone at home after their families had gone to work or school.
It said it intends to use the analysis results to map out suicide prevention measures.
The ministry said 73 percent of those who committed suicide were men.
Mondays had the most suicides, with an average of 80.7 males and 27.3 females killing themselves, while Saturday had the fewest, with an average of 53.3 males and 21.2 females.
By hour, 6.2 percent of men committed suicide between 5 and 6 a.m., while 5.6 percent of women committed suicide between noon and 1 p.m.
By month, April had the highest daily rate of suicides, with 103.2 people killing themselves per day, and May the second-highest, with an average of 100.3 people killing themselves daily.
By age bracket, males in their 50s were the largest group of people committing suicide.
Death by hanging was the most common method, but group suicide through gas inhalation also increased, with 3,538 people involved, up by 2,024 from 2002.
Japan has seen a series of incidents in which strangers got together through the Internet and committed suicide in a group, typically using charcoal stoves inside sealed environments, including vehicles.
By prefecture, Akita had the highest suicide rate for both men and women, while Kanagawa had the lowest for men and Saga the lowest for women.
The National Police Agency earlier said in a similar study on suicides that over a quarter of the suicides in 2003 are believed to have stemmed from economic difficulties." ...
The Japan Times, January 29th, 2005
Good to see an article that focuses more on the detailed analysis of both individual and group suicides in Japan, rather than the majority of the more sensational and sometimes hysterical articles towards the end of 2004, which focused almost solely on so called "internet suicide pacts", "internet suicide groups" and even in one case, "internet suicide clubs" (based only on the self styled name of one suicidal individual's homepage).
It is worth noting that The National Police Agency statistics show that group suicide through gas inhalation also increased, with 3,538 people involved. The term group suicide here includes many different situations where people have died together, from a couple who had a chicken farm where a case of asian bird flu was reported, to businessmen whose company went bankrupt committing suicide together in hotel rooms.
The official statistics for the total number of people who actually died in group suicides where the victims made initial contact through "internet suicide sites" have yet to be released for 2004, but is estimated by one expert psychiatrist in the field to be "less than 50" in total. The National Police Agency last reported statistic was for 2003, when a total of 34 people died in group suicides after it seems they made initial contact through the internet.
A lack of in depth background research by some sections of the press and other media in both Japan and in countries abroad, and, in some cases of reports in English, actual errors and a seeming lack of confirming the reliability of the statistics from the original sources in Japanese, may have been one of the factors focusing attention away from the underlying economical and psychological causes of suicide in Japan.
I would urge the more responsible reporters and journalists who will be reporting to take greater care in 2005 and in the future in the reporting of suicide in 2004 (and in the reporting of all other mental health care related issues in Japan) yet to be released later this year. Responsible media reporting could help more to focus on all of the central crucial issues related to suicide prevention, and discourage those less caring members of their craft from sensationalizing and even encouraging the use of the way a relatively low number of unemployed, distressed, depressed and hopeless people lost their lives in 2003 and 2004 - Timi
Mondays see most suicides; men tend to pick 5 a.m., women noon
"Mondays had the most suicides in Japan in 2003, with the most common hour being around 5 a.m. for men and around noon for women, an analysis by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed Friday...
The ministry said men tended to commit suicide in the early morning, apparently wanting to avoid being noticed by others, while women did so around noon when they were alone at home after their families had gone to work or school.
It said it intends to use the analysis results to map out suicide prevention measures.
The ministry said 73 percent of those who committed suicide were men.
Mondays had the most suicides, with an average of 80.7 males and 27.3 females killing themselves, while Saturday had the fewest, with an average of 53.3 males and 21.2 females.
By hour, 6.2 percent of men committed suicide between 5 and 6 a.m., while 5.6 percent of women committed suicide between noon and 1 p.m.
By month, April had the highest daily rate of suicides, with 103.2 people killing themselves per day, and May the second-highest, with an average of 100.3 people killing themselves daily.
By age bracket, males in their 50s were the largest group of people committing suicide.
Death by hanging was the most common method, but group suicide through gas inhalation also increased, with 3,538 people involved, up by 2,024 from 2002.
Japan has seen a series of incidents in which strangers got together through the Internet and committed suicide in a group, typically using charcoal stoves inside sealed environments, including vehicles.
By prefecture, Akita had the highest suicide rate for both men and women, while Kanagawa had the lowest for men and Saga the lowest for women.
The National Police Agency earlier said in a similar study on suicides that over a quarter of the suicides in 2003 are believed to have stemmed from economic difficulties." ...
The Japan Times, January 29th, 2005
Good to see an article that focuses more on the detailed analysis of both individual and group suicides in Japan, rather than the majority of the more sensational and sometimes hysterical articles towards the end of 2004, which focused almost solely on so called "internet suicide pacts", "internet suicide groups" and even in one case, "internet suicide clubs" (based only on the self styled name of one suicidal individual's homepage).
It is worth noting that The National Police Agency statistics show that group suicide through gas inhalation also increased, with 3,538 people involved. The term group suicide here includes many different situations where people have died together, from a couple who had a chicken farm where a case of asian bird flu was reported, to businessmen whose company went bankrupt committing suicide together in hotel rooms.
The official statistics for the total number of people who actually died in group suicides where the victims made initial contact through "internet suicide sites" have yet to be released for 2004, but is estimated by one expert psychiatrist in the field to be "less than 50" in total. The National Police Agency last reported statistic was for 2003, when a total of 34 people died in group suicides after it seems they made initial contact through the internet.
A lack of in depth background research by some sections of the press and other media in both Japan and in countries abroad, and, in some cases of reports in English, actual errors and a seeming lack of confirming the reliability of the statistics from the original sources in Japanese, may have been one of the factors focusing attention away from the underlying economical and psychological causes of suicide in Japan.
I would urge the more responsible reporters and journalists who will be reporting to take greater care in 2005 and in the future in the reporting of suicide in 2004 (and in the reporting of all other mental health care related issues in Japan) yet to be released later this year. Responsible media reporting could help more to focus on all of the central crucial issues related to suicide prevention, and discourage those less caring members of their craft from sensationalizing and even encouraging the use of the way a relatively low number of unemployed, distressed, depressed and hopeless people lost their lives in 2003 and 2004 - Timi
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