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Japan suicides rise to record amid health problems, economic slump |
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August 19, 2000
TOKYO (AP) - Suicides in Japan rose to a record high for the second straight year on hardships caused by health problems and the nation's prolonged economic slump, the government said Friday. In all, 33,048 people killed themselves in 1999, up 0.6 percent from the previous record of 32,863 suicides in 1998, the National Police Agency said. People suffering from health problems accounted for about half of the total, the NPA said. Suicides attributed to hardships caused by Japan's prolonged economic slowdown also rose to a record, climbing 11.6 percent during the year to 6,758, the agency said. Analysts said a wave of corporate restructuring has forced many companies to cut workers in an attempt to bail themselves out of the nation's worst economic slump since World War II. Last year, Japan's unemployment rate increased to an all-time high of 4.9 percent. Suicides by men and women in their 50s and 60s totaled 19,411 people, up 573 from the previous year and the largest number of suicides among any age group. By gender, 23,512 men took their own lives in 1999, up 499 from the previous year; and 9,536 women killed themselves, down 314 from the previous year, the agency said. Japan has one of the world's highest suicide rates. Every year, 36.5 of every 100,000 men and 14.7 of every 100,000 women commit suicide. That compares with 19.9 men and 4.6 women in the United States; 11.7 men and 3.2 women in England; and 43.4 for men and 11.8 for women in Finland, according to the Health Ministry. (km-ss) On the Net: Japan's National Police Agency: http://www.npa.go.jp/police-e.htm |