Japanese researchers found that monthly suicide rates rose by 16 percent from July to October 2020 by 16 percent. The three-month interval coincided with Japan’s second wave of Chinese coronavirus outbreaks, Reuters reported Sunday.
Published by researchers at the Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology of Tokyo and the University of Hong Kong in the scientific journal Nature Human Behavior on Jan. 15, the study found a larger increase in suicide rates “among women (37 percent) and children and adolescents (49 percent).”
Friday’s findings are in stark contrast to suicidal data from Japan’s first coronavirus wave – February to June 2020 – when the country recorded a 14 percent drop in the number of suicides nationwide. Some observers attributed the decline to increased government subsidies during periods of lock-in, as well as reduced working hours and school closures. Japanese researchers have suggested that the conditions could reduce the daily stress for the country’s traditionally overworked citizens.
Scientists conducted the January 15 suicide study based on the Japanese Ministry of Health’s data from November 2016 to October 2020.
“Unlike normal economic conditions, this pandemic excessively affects the psychological health of children, adolescents and women (especially housewives),” the study authors wrote.
The 37 percent increase in women’s suicides was ‘about five times the increase among men – as the prolonged pandemic’s operations where women dominate hurt, increasing the burden on working mothers while increasing domestic violence,’ the researchers said.
Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide declared a limited state of emergency for Tokyo and three of the surrounding prefectures on January 7 after health authorities recorded an increase in the number of new daily cases of coronavirus in the capital region. Suga expanded the state of emergency on January 13 to seven additional prefectures, including Osaka and Kyoto. The closure restrictions in the national capital will last after at least February 7 and service in 150,000 restaurants and bars in Tokyo will be limited or restricted. .
The Japanese Minister of Administrative and Regulatory Reform, Kono Taro, told Reuters on January 14 that the Japanese federal government “cannot kill the economy” in its efforts to curb the latest coronavirus revival in Japan, as it ” can have a devastating impact on the country’s collective mental health.
‘People are worried about COVID-19 [Chinese coronavirus]. “Many people also committed suicide because they lost their jobs, lost their income and could not see the hope,” Kono told the news agency.
‘We need to find the balance between managing COVID-19 [Chinese coronavirus] and the management of the economy, ”he added.