Reason to Live
Reason to live
"Too often, people contemplating suicide don't realize help is at hand.
And with an annual suicide rate in excess of 30,000, local governments are belatedly responding to the problem.
The fact is, national government strategies aimed at reducing the toll have made little difference. That is why local governments have stepped into the breach...
... Japan's suicide rate rose sharply in 1998 when the domestic economy was in a tailspin following the bursting of the heady asset-inflated bubble a few years earlier. That year, suicides grew by 8,000 to top 30,000 for the first time. The rate has hovered there since, although last year it showed a slight decline.
In 2002, Japan recorded 24.1 deaths through suicide per 100,000 people, giving it one of the highest rates in the industrialized world.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare finally moved in fiscal 2001 by earmarking 300 million yen for suicide prevention programs.
For this fiscal year, the figure is 855 million yen.
The health ministry says it hopes to reduce the annual suicide rate to fewer than 22,000 by 2010. It is emphasizing research on depression, training workplace physicians and setting up crisis hot lines.
Still, critics say the government's measures lack scope and are too focused on combating depression.
Critics also say the programs don't look at factors such as financial woes caused by joblessness and debt, which are increasingly responsible for the high suicide rate.
The Asahi Shimbun survey was conducted in cooperation with Tadashi Takeshima, director of planning at Tokyo's National Institute of Mental Health...
... Hokkaido was among 15 prefectural governments that came right out and used the word "suicide."
Others couched their programs in euphemistic labels such as "mental health" or "anti-depression."
In a similar survey in 2002, Takeshima found that only eight prefectural or municipal governments initiated projects that referred directly to suicide.
"Akita Prefecture, for example, tackled the suicide issue head on, without any whiff of taboo," Takeshima noted. "Inspired by Akita's success, other prefectural and municipal governments have begun using the word, too."
Akita Prefecture had the highest number of suicides per 100,000 population for 10 consecutive years-until last year.
In fiscal 2000, the Akita government set up a comprehensive prevention program and urged residents to give their support.
Six towns with high suicide rates were chosen to test the program under which officials counseled individuals considering suicide. The prefectural government provided extensive support through health education and consultations on steps to treat depression.
As a result, the number of suicides dropped from 30 in 2001 to 13 last year..."
International Herald Tribune/Asahi: June 23, 2005
The target of a reduction of the annual suicide number of 22,000 by 2010, if achieved would be an improvement. However 22,000 a year is still too many people dying. More consideration needs to given to the use of education and information for people to understand that experiencing financial difficulty through unemployment, debt and the development of depression and suicidality are often intrinsically related to one another. Another possible way to raise awareness of how to get help for oneself or a relative who may have become depressed, may have previously attempted sucide or who may be suicidal would be for television and radio campaigns to be launched at both a national and regional level. Immediate, positive and assertive publicity and action campaigns have the potential to increase public awareness of how to find the medical and social services and resources which exist to prevent suicide. - Timi
"Too often, people contemplating suicide don't realize help is at hand.
And with an annual suicide rate in excess of 30,000, local governments are belatedly responding to the problem.
The fact is, national government strategies aimed at reducing the toll have made little difference. That is why local governments have stepped into the breach...
... Japan's suicide rate rose sharply in 1998 when the domestic economy was in a tailspin following the bursting of the heady asset-inflated bubble a few years earlier. That year, suicides grew by 8,000 to top 30,000 for the first time. The rate has hovered there since, although last year it showed a slight decline.
In 2002, Japan recorded 24.1 deaths through suicide per 100,000 people, giving it one of the highest rates in the industrialized world.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare finally moved in fiscal 2001 by earmarking 300 million yen for suicide prevention programs.
For this fiscal year, the figure is 855 million yen.
The health ministry says it hopes to reduce the annual suicide rate to fewer than 22,000 by 2010. It is emphasizing research on depression, training workplace physicians and setting up crisis hot lines.
Still, critics say the government's measures lack scope and are too focused on combating depression.
Critics also say the programs don't look at factors such as financial woes caused by joblessness and debt, which are increasingly responsible for the high suicide rate.
The Asahi Shimbun survey was conducted in cooperation with Tadashi Takeshima, director of planning at Tokyo's National Institute of Mental Health...
... Hokkaido was among 15 prefectural governments that came right out and used the word "suicide."
Others couched their programs in euphemistic labels such as "mental health" or "anti-depression."
In a similar survey in 2002, Takeshima found that only eight prefectural or municipal governments initiated projects that referred directly to suicide.
"Akita Prefecture, for example, tackled the suicide issue head on, without any whiff of taboo," Takeshima noted. "Inspired by Akita's success, other prefectural and municipal governments have begun using the word, too."
Akita Prefecture had the highest number of suicides per 100,000 population for 10 consecutive years-until last year.
In fiscal 2000, the Akita government set up a comprehensive prevention program and urged residents to give their support.
Six towns with high suicide rates were chosen to test the program under which officials counseled individuals considering suicide. The prefectural government provided extensive support through health education and consultations on steps to treat depression.
As a result, the number of suicides dropped from 30 in 2001 to 13 last year..."
International Herald Tribune/Asahi: June 23, 2005
The target of a reduction of the annual suicide number of 22,000 by 2010, if achieved would be an improvement. However 22,000 a year is still too many people dying. More consideration needs to given to the use of education and information for people to understand that experiencing financial difficulty through unemployment, debt and the development of depression and suicidality are often intrinsically related to one another. Another possible way to raise awareness of how to get help for oneself or a relative who may have become depressed, may have previously attempted sucide or who may be suicidal would be for television and radio campaigns to be launched at both a national and regional level. Immediate, positive and assertive publicity and action campaigns have the potential to increase public awareness of how to find the medical and social services and resources which exist to prevent suicide. - Timi
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