Suicides surged in Japan amid the Covid-19 pandemic, study finds

Women in their 20s accounted for the largest increase in suicides relative to what would have occurred otherwise, the University of Tokyo study found

Economic hardship is believed to be one of the major drivers of suicides in Japan, as deaths tend to increase when the unemployment rate rises

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People wearing face masks walk across a pedestrian crossing in Tokyo. Women in their 20s accounted for the largest increase in suicides amid the pandemic, the Japanese study found. Photo: AP

Published: 3:33pm, 17 Aug 2022Updated: 3:47pm, 17 Aug 2022

The coronavirus pandemic led to 8,000 more suicides in Japan between March 2020 and June 2022 than would have been expected in the period, a recent study calculated.

Women in their 20s accounted for the largest increase relative to what would have occurred had the pandemic not happened, it found.

A relatively large number of women 19 years of age or younger took their own lives in the period, according to the study conducted by a team of researchers including Taisuke Nakata, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo.

A woman walks through a field of sunflowers at a park in Tokyo. A relatively large number of young Japanese women took their own lives amid the pandemic, according to the study. Photo: AFP

“Women, who have more non-regular jobs than men, tend to be more affected economically, while young people are possibly more likely to be forced into isolation due to behavioural restrictions,” Nakata said, indicating that financial stress contributed to an increase in the suicide rate in Japan.

Government data showed that the number of suicides totalled around 21,000 in 2020 and 2021, respectively, higher than the figure in the preceding two years which was around 20,000. But the impact of the pandemic had been unclear.

In Japan, economic hardship is believed to be one of the major drivers of suicides, as deaths tend to increase when the unemployment rate rises.

The team estimated the expected number of suicides for the period based on past trends with fluctuations in the employment factored in and compared it to the actual figure. As a result, the number of suicides likely increased by 8,088, they believe.