In Japan, suicide rates among men rise as coronavirus impact hits hard

The country’s health ministry says 705 working-age men killed themselves in September, as the number of suicides in the country starts to increase again

Covid-19 financial pressures are compounded by a lack of interaction with colleagues and the stigma associated with seeking help for mental health issues

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Suicide statistics in Japan were falling before the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:00am, 25 Nov 2020Updated: 9:34am, 25 Nov 2020

New statistics on suicide released by Japan’s health ministry indicate a growing sense of despair among the nation’s working men, as the coronavirus pandemic is blamed for job cuts at large companies, worsening workplace conditions and year-end bonuses evaporating.

According to the ministry, 705 men aged between 20 and 59 took their own lives in September, up 56 cases or 8.6 per cent from the same month last year. It was a similar situation in August, with 706 suicides, an increase of 6.6 per cent on the same month in 2019. In total, 1,805 people in Japan took their own lives in September, up 143 deaths from the same month a year previously.

“It’s a combination of things, but it can all be traced back to the impact of the coronavirus. As well as costing jobs, the virus has changed the way we have to work,” said “Lucky” Morimoto, founder of the Event Services Inc. incentive travel company.

“We used to live in a world where people had to talk face-to-face with customers and colleagues, and then we would go out for drinks after work. But that has gone now. We have to stay at home, we have to work remotely, people are lonely because they are not having any human interactions.”

The suicide statistics were released close to domestic travel giant JTB Corp’s announcement that it would cut 6,500 staff nationwide, freeze the hiring of new graduates, and shut down 115 outlets – a quarter of the total it operated at the start of the year.

The Kintetsu travel group also revealed it was closing 60 per cent of its outlets and restructuring its operations – a sign of just how seriously Japan’s travel sector has been hit by the pandemic.