Coronavirus: Suicide rate rises among schoolchildren and women during pandemic in Japan

A rise in the number of suicides in Japan in August was fuelled by women and schoolchildren, data shows in an early glimpse of the mental health impacts of the coronavirus crisis.

Japan is one of few countries to release timely data on suicide, which has long been a major societal issue in the island nation. Other countries such as China and the US do not report official data on suicides until years later. The UK for instance published its 2019 data only last month.

The data from Japan could offer a hint as to the damage to mental health being wrought by the pandemic around the globe.

Latest government statistics show the total number of suicides across Japan in August was 1,854, a 15.4 per cent rise from the same time last year.

Female suicides jumped by around 40 per cent this August. Though the figure is around half that of male suicides, the increase far outstrips that of the male rate, which rose by around 6 per cent.

The number of school-aged children taking their own life more than doubled in the same period, Bloomberg reports.  

Sociologists have warned many times of the impact of the pandemic on mental health as restrictions on social interaction have left people isolated and the economic shock has led to thousands upon thousands of job losses, with more to come.  

A global study by Care International found 27 per cent of women had reported an increase in problems linked to mental illness, compared with only 10 per cent of men.  

In Japan, women have bore the brunt of the economic crisis as key areas of employment including hospitality and retail have suffered sharply due to lockdown.  

Data from Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs shows the percentage of women in work has declined more than twice as far as men. At the end of July, 26.6 million people were in work in Japan, a drop of 3.2 per cent from last year. Women account for more than two-thirds of the fall.

Employment is not the sole factor damaging women's mental health. For instance, domestic violence helplines have seen a spike in calls as families are stuck at home together. 

South Korea, which has the highest rate of suicide in the OECD, similarly saw a spike in female suicides in the early months of the pandemic.

For children, the pandemic has brought about a major change in their social development at the same time as causing untold stress for parents, something doctors say may lead to neglect.

Stressed-out parents “may be missing signs from their children and not being compassionate enough about their problems,” Mayumi Hangai, a doctor at the National Centre for Child Health and Development who has surveyed children’s stress levels during the pandemic, told Bloomberg.

When schools reopened in June, children were faced with additional pressure to catch up on work they had missed.   

“Children feel even more pressured to catch up with the delay,” Hiroyuki Nishino, the head of Tamariba, a nonprofit that works with struggling children, told Bloomberg. “We’ve heard kids as young as five years old talking about dying or wanting to disappear,” said Nishino.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

For services local to you, the national mental health database- Hub of Hope - allows you to enter your postcode to search for organisations and charities who offer mental health advice and support in your area.