Health Ministry Suicide Plans
Research team planned to reduce suicides by 20%
(NB: It is important to note that the annual suicide figures in this article The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare figures for 2003 and 2004.
These should not be confused with the annual suicide rate figures which have since 1947 been, and still are, reported annually by the National Police Agency.
The National Police Agency reported the number of suicides decreased by 6.1% to 32,325 in 2004, from 34,427 in 2003.
It is the NPA figures which have shown Japan to have experienced its seventh straight year in which suicides exceeded 30,000.- Timi)
"... The health ministry plans to set aside 200 million yen for a five-year research program aimed at reducing suicides triggered by depression, especially among men in the prime of their lives.
One goal of the research, the biggest program of its kind, will be to identify community and other programs that have succeeded, and to see if they can work on a larger scale in major urban areas.
The other objective is to find measures that can prevent a recurrence of depression and thus cut down on the number of suicide attempts.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare had already set a target of reducing suicides to under 22,000 in 2010, but the continuing high numbers compelled ministry officials to seek other measures to stop depression-related suicides.
The health ministry recently said 30,227 people killed themselves in 2004, a decrease from the record 32,109 in 2003, but still the seventh straight year in which suicides exceeded 30,000.
The research project will be commissioned with the Japan Foundation for Neuroscience and Mental Health, which will begin accepting applications from researchers and medical institutions interested in taking part in the project.
The actual research could begin as early as this summer.In March, a health ministry research team headed by Teruhiko Higuchi, chief of the Musashi hospital of the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, put together a report that included examples and appraisals of suicide-prevention programs around Japan...
...The other research plan will focus on individuals with depression who have attempted suicide.
In that program, a control group will be set up to compare the effectiveness of certain methods in preventing the recurrence of depression as well as the rate of attempted suicides.
The team will select about 1,000 suicidal individuals at medical institutions with close ties between their emergency and psychiatric departments.
Half of these patients will receive not only the normal treatment but will also be provided the opportunity to consult with specialists through the phone or e-mail. They will also be allowed to take part in a program to determine symptoms using the latest information technology, even after being discharged from the medical institution.
The objective of this research plan is to reduce the recurrence of depression by 30 percent over a three-and-a-half-year period... "
International Herald Tribune/Asahi: June 13, 2005
(NB: It is important to note that the annual suicide figures in this article The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare figures for 2003 and 2004.
These should not be confused with the annual suicide rate figures which have since 1947 been, and still are, reported annually by the National Police Agency.
The National Police Agency reported the number of suicides decreased by 6.1% to 32,325 in 2004, from 34,427 in 2003.
It is the NPA figures which have shown Japan to have experienced its seventh straight year in which suicides exceeded 30,000.- Timi)
"... The health ministry plans to set aside 200 million yen for a five-year research program aimed at reducing suicides triggered by depression, especially among men in the prime of their lives.
One goal of the research, the biggest program of its kind, will be to identify community and other programs that have succeeded, and to see if they can work on a larger scale in major urban areas.
The other objective is to find measures that can prevent a recurrence of depression and thus cut down on the number of suicide attempts.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare had already set a target of reducing suicides to under 22,000 in 2010, but the continuing high numbers compelled ministry officials to seek other measures to stop depression-related suicides.
The health ministry recently said 30,227 people killed themselves in 2004, a decrease from the record 32,109 in 2003, but still the seventh straight year in which suicides exceeded 30,000.
The research project will be commissioned with the Japan Foundation for Neuroscience and Mental Health, which will begin accepting applications from researchers and medical institutions interested in taking part in the project.
The actual research could begin as early as this summer.In March, a health ministry research team headed by Teruhiko Higuchi, chief of the Musashi hospital of the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, put together a report that included examples and appraisals of suicide-prevention programs around Japan...
...The other research plan will focus on individuals with depression who have attempted suicide.
In that program, a control group will be set up to compare the effectiveness of certain methods in preventing the recurrence of depression as well as the rate of attempted suicides.
The team will select about 1,000 suicidal individuals at medical institutions with close ties between their emergency and psychiatric departments.
Half of these patients will receive not only the normal treatment but will also be provided the opportunity to consult with specialists through the phone or e-mail. They will also be allowed to take part in a program to determine symptoms using the latest information technology, even after being discharged from the medical institution.
The objective of this research plan is to reduce the recurrence of depression by 30 percent over a three-and-a-half-year period... "
International Herald Tribune/Asahi: June 13, 2005
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