The Great East Japan Earthquake, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident, and Elderly Health

Abstract

On March 11, 2011, Japan experienced an earthquake of magnitude 9-9.1, called the Great East Japan Earthquake, with a subsequent giant tsunami, which caused massive damage to the Tohoku region Pacific coast (Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures), and a nuclear accident that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Disaster-related deaths occurred mainly in the elderly, and more than half of the disaster-related deaths occurred in Fukushima prefecture, where the nuclear accident occurred. During the first 2 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the suicide standard mortality ratio (SMR) in the three affected prefectures decreased. Three years after the disaster, however, the suicide SMR rose to the pre-disaster level in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures and exceeded the suicide SMR before the disaster in Fukushima prefecture. Mental health service providers for disasters should keep in mind that suicide rates can eventually increase after a disaster, even if they initially decrease.