Number Of Suicides In Japan Research Articles

Factors Regarding Suicide Decline in Japan: A Longitudinal Study on Psychiatric Diagnosis of Serious Suicide Attempters.

The number of suicides in Japan decreased during the period from 2012 through 2019. Because data on factors associated with this decline are limited, we conducted a retrospective longitudinal study of psychiatric diagnoses of serious suicide attempters before 2012 and after 2019. Serious suicide attempters admitted to the critical care medicine (CCM) department of Nippon Medical School Hospital between 2006 and 2017 were included and classified as those before and after the suicide decline in 2012. Chi-square test and residual analysis were used to analyze changes in the proportion of suicide attempters among all patients admitted to CCM and to examine differences in the proportion of psychiatric diagnoses. The proportion of suicide attempters among CCM hospitalized patients decreased overall (χ2 (1) =18.29, p<.01). The proportion of psychiatric diagnoses changed significantly (χ2 (8) =62.21, p<0.001); specifically, it decreased for schizophrenia (residual: -2.28), depressive disorders (residual: -5.39), persistent mood disorders (residual: -3.58), and reaction to stress disorders (residual: -2.73). Depressive disorders decreased and had a large contribution ratio in both sexes. The decrease in the proportion of attempted suicides among patients admitted to CCM was consistent with the decline in suicides in Japan. Analysis by psychiatric diagnosis confirmed a significant decrease in the proportion of suicide attempts associated with depressive disorders, schizophrenia, and reaction to stress disorders, which were the most common disorders associated with attempted suicide. Depressive disorders made the greatest contribution to the reduction in suicide attempts.

Living with suicidal feelings: Japanese non‐profit organizations for suicide prevention amid the COVID‐19 pandemic

The number of suicides in Japan increased for the first time in 11 years during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This trend is particularly high among employed women and students. The Japanese government expanded its budget for providing telephone and social network service (SNS) counseling by prefectures and non‐profit organizations (NPOs). On the basis of interviews with the chairman as well as counselors of an NPO in Osaka (Japan) that has provided telephone counseling services on suicide for over 40 years, this study examines suicide and suicide prevention amid the COVID‐19 pandemic with a particular focus on how suicidal feelings are accepted. The results clarify that people do not wish to die just because of financial troubles or health problems; rather, they have lost the meaning in their life in the conflicts between social conditions and their personal life histories. Additionally, as volunteer counselors often experience the suicide of close relatives, their empathy for a caller may be based on their experiences of being overwhelmed by the realization of the otherness of others. They do not regard the acceptance of suicidal feelings as a “job,” but act as “friends.” Although modern society conceals death and suicide cases, the key to achieving a society where no one is driven into committing suicide is to place human life and human rights first as well as to talk about suicide and suicidal feelings without making the subject taboo or an aberration.

Predicting the Number of Suicides in Japan Using Internet Search Queries: Vector Autoregression Time Series Model.

BackgroundThe number of suicides in Japan increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Predicting the number of suicides is important to take timely preventive measures.ObjectiveThis study aims to clarify whether the number of suicides can be predicted by suicide-related search queries used before searching for the keyword “suicide.”MethodsThis study uses the infoveillance approach for suicide in Japan by search trends in search engines. The monthly number of suicides by gender, collected and published by the National Police Agency, was used as an outcome variable. The number of searches by gender with queries associated with “suicide” on “Yahoo! JAPAN Search” from January 2016 to December 2020 was used as a predictive variable. The following five phrases highly relevant to suicide were used as search terms before searching for the keyword “suicide” and extracted and used for analyses: “abuse”; “work, don’t want to go”; “company, want to quit”; “divorce”; and “no money.” The augmented Dickey-Fuller and Johansen tests were performed for the original series and to verify the existence of unit roots and cointegration for each variable, respectively. The vector autoregression model was applied to predict the number of suicides. The Breusch-Godfrey Lagrangian multiplier (BG-LM) test, autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity Lagrangian multiplier (ARCH-LM) test, and Jarque-Bera (JB) test were used to confirm model convergence. In addition, a Granger causality test was performed for each predictive variable.ResultsIn the original series, unit roots were found in the trend model, whereas in the first-order difference series, both men (minimum tau 3: −9.24; max tau 3: −5.38) and women (minimum tau 3: −9.24; max tau 3: −5.38) had no unit roots for all variables. In the Johansen test, a cointegration relationship was observed among several variables. The queries used in the converged models were “divorce” for men (BG-LM test: P=.55; ARCH-LM test: P=.63; JB test: P=.66) and “no money” for women (BG-LM test: P=.17; ARCH-LM test: P=.15; JB test: P=.10). In the Granger causality test for each variable, “divorce” was significant for both men (F104=3.29; P=.04) and women (F104=3.23; P=.04).ConclusionsThe number of suicides can be predicted by search queries related to the keyword “suicide.” Previous studies have reported that financial poverty and divorce are associated with suicide. The results of this study, in which search queries on “no money” and “divorce” predicted suicide, support the findings of previous studies. Further research on the economic poverty of women and those with complex problems is necessary.

Effects of Shinrin-Yoku Retreat on Mental Health: a Pilot Study in Fukushima, Japan

Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) is a cost-effective healing practice that has recently attracted the interest of social scientists who have attributed it, in part, to mental health benefits. Japanese university students suffer from high rates of mental health problems, and the number of suicides remains high despite the total number of suicides in Japan decreasing. Effective mental health approaches which increase mental wellbeing and self-compassion, and reduce associated deficits, such as loneliness, are sought after for Japanese students; however, healthful treatment has not been identified to date. Accordingly, this pre-post-pilot study evaluated the levels of mental wellbeing, self-compassion, and loneliness among 25 Japanese undergraduate students who participated in a three-day shinrin-yoku retreat in Fukushima. Measurements were taken prior, straight after, and two weeks post-intervention. One-way ANOVA with Tukey post hoc analysis revealed that the mean scores of self-compassion, common humanity, and mindfulness increased statistically significantly from pre-retreat to follow-up. The mean scores of mental wellbeing and loneliness did not statistically significantly change. The positive effects on self-compassion indicate that shinrin-yoku retreat should be evaluated within a larger sample and in a shorter time frame to establish optimal shinrin-yoku parameters in this arena.

Suicide prevention in Japan: Government and community measures, and high-risk interventions.

Suicide is one of the most critical issues worldwide. In Japan, more than 30 000 people died by suicide every year between 1998 and 2011, and the Japanese government, local governments, and various other agencies have been working on suicide prevention programs to reduce the suicide rate. While the number of suicides is still high (more than 20 000 per year), many specialists are striving to further reduce the number of suicides in Japan. The Japanese government has played a central role in suicide prevention through the enactment of several laws, and in recent years, suicide prevention has shifted from government to community-specific measures. This review discusses the suicide prevention measures that have been taken so far: (1) policy strategies for suicide prevention by the Japanese government, (2) community suicide prevention, and (3) strategic studies for suicide prevention. Finally, as shown in the ACTION-J study, we conclude that cooperation among related organizations in the community, not just one institution, is important for future suicide prevention, especially youth suicide prevention.

Seppuku: Kematian Terhormat dalam Tradisi Jepang

In modern times, the era after the Meiji Restoration, seppuku gradually disappeared when the samurai group was abolished. Although in Japan there are still people who commit seppuku and harakiri but the motivation, implementation methods and objectives are different from seppuku and harakiri in the era before the Meiji restoration. The changes and dynamics of Japanese society in conducting seppuku and harakiri are very interesting to study. The purpose of writing this article is to find out whether there is a correlation between seppuku tradition and the number of suicides in Japan at this time. To explore this correlation, the writing of this article uses a qualitative method with a historical approach. The stages of historical research begin with data collection (heuristics), source criticism, interpretation and writing of research results in the form of articles. The analysis was performed using qualitative methods which include data reduction, data presentation, and concluding. The results of the study concluded that there is no strong correlation between seppuku traditions in the past with suicide (jisatsu) that many Japanese do today. There is a difference in purpose, motivation and background in their suicide.

A Long‐term Study of the Association between the Relative Poverty Rate and Suicide Rate in Japan

The annual number of suicides in Japan totaled around 23,000 in 1997 and abruptly increased to around 31,000 in 1998. This figure has remained high since then. This abrupt increase in the number of suicides was primarily due to an increase in suicides occasioned by economic concerns. The association between various economic factors and suicide must be studied in detail and over the long term in order to ascertain the association between economic concerns and suicide. This study examined the relative poverty rate and the suicide rate in Japan over 30 years and discussed the association between those two rates. The results suggest that the relative poverty rate may be associated with the suicide rate for both sexes. This association is true for men in particular. The organizations and professionals involved in implementing suicide prevention measures should be cognizant of the current findings and consider formulating additional specific measures.

An Analysis of Suicides in Japan, 1997–2007: Changes in Incidence, Persistence, and Age Profiles

This study investigates the abrupt increase in the number of suicides in Japan in 1998 and the subsequent persistence of suicide thereafter; it does so by undertaking data decompositions in terms of demographic factors, reasons for suicide, employment status, and access to the means of committing suicide. The decomposition results regarding the growth in the Japanese suicide rate from 1997 to 1998 show that a large proportion of the abrupt increase in the number of suicides can be attributed to middle-aged men with financial problems, and that the self-employed subset of the population contributed significantly to growth in the suicide rate. Meanwhile, persistently high suicide rates since 1998 can be largely attributed to the younger generation (i.e., those aged 20–39). In accordance with the decomposition results, prefecture-level panel data regression established a correlation between suicide and economic hardship. In particular, the unemployment rate and the individual bankruptcy rate were found to be positively associated with the suicide rates of all males, males aged 20–39, and males aged 40–59, while individual bankruptcy was found to affect middle-aged males more than younger males.

Google Searches for Suicide and Risk of Suicide

Routine surveillance of the incidence of disease comprises a core function of federal and regional public health programs (1). Surveillance systems for mental disorders, however, remain underdeveloped despite strong temporal variation in their incidence. Recently Google, the most commonly used search engine in the world, launched “Google Trends.” This website allows the public to gather statistics on queries to the Google.com search engine. To the extent that depression—a key risk factor for suicide—and suicidal ideation presage an increased risk of suicide completion, surveillance of Google Trends queries may assist with focused bursts of suicide prevention efforts. We tested whether suicide-related Google searches predict the monthly incidence of completed suicides. We examined England and Wales given their publicly available suicide database and their high societal cost of premature death due to suicide (i.e., $9.2 billion in 2009 alone) (2). We retrieved the incidence of suicide in England and Wales for January 2004 to December 2010, the longest series that overlaps with internet-based suicide queries. We defined suicide using conventional ICD-10 classification schemes. We used as independent variables the monthly internet-based queries on a series of search terms within England and Wales, drawn from previous literature, that relate to suicide ideation (3,4). We examined three distinct sets of terms: suicide methodology (“suicide”, “suicide” and “methods”), depressive symptoms (terms: “suicide” and “depression”, “depression”, “depression” and “help”), and suicide help (terms: “suicide” and “help”). To statistically control for temporal patterns in suicide (e.g., seasonality, trend), we applied rigorous time-series routines (see Appendix) (5). We further controlled for the unemployment rate and Google searches in the news, which often peak following suspected suicides of popular personalities (e.g., Amy Winehouse) but may not signal increased help-seeking or depression. In the three searches that included the term “depression,” we find a positive relation with search volume and suicide in that same month (see Appendix). The strongest positive relation occurs between the “depression and help” Google Trends query and suicide incidence in the same month (coef. at lag 0 months = .0045, standard error [SE] = .0014, p=.002). We estimate that Google searches statistically account for a seven percent increase in suicides during months in which search volume for “depression” increased. However, none of the internet searches predict the incidence of suicide in the following month. We, moreover, find no relation between “suicide” or “suicide and methods” searches and suicide incidence We caution the reader against inferring an individual’s internet search behavior, depressive symptoms and their risk of suicide from our population-level tests. Temporal fluctuations in Google searches, rather, gauge a population-level interest which cannot shed light on individual differences in suicide risk. In addition, our findings of a positive relation between internet search volume for “suicide and depression” and completed suicide in the same month cannot definitively establish that suicide-related searches precede suicide completion. Nevertheless, our findings in England and Wales indicate that current surveillance efforts for suicide may benefit from the real-time use of Google-based internet searches for depression.

Report on suicidal trends in persons aged 60 or over in Japan: the need for effective prevention measures

In Japan, the suicide rate has remained high since 1998, and effective suicide prevention measures that can bring about an immediate decrease in suicides are needed now. Specific suicide prevention measures must be based on the results of detailed research into the trends and causative factors of suicide. In the present study, we investigated the number of suicides and the proportion of causative factors in persons aged 60 or over compared with the total number of suicides in Japan from 1999 to 2005. We also discussed the causative factors of suicide among men and women aged 60 or over in detail. During the period from 1999 to 2005, the proportion of the number of suicides in persons aged 60 or over to the total number of suicides changed from 28.9% to 31.1% among men and from 42.5% to 45.9% among women. The most common causative factor was 'health problems' among both men and women, and the second most common cause was 'economic and life problems' among men. 'Family problems' was one of the major causative factors among both men and women. Therefore, more attention needs to be paid to persons aged 60 or over with regard to these factors in particular. Professionals and organizations involved in suicide prevention must work cooperatively to prevent suicide.

Factors affecting the choice of suicide method in Okayama : A database analysis from a forensic perspective

The annual number of suicides in Japan increased sharply in 1998, and since that time it has consistently exceeded 30,000 per year. In this study, we analyze a database of personal and background characteristics of 824 cases (605 men, 219 women) who completed suicide in Okayama Prefecture in 2002 and 2003. The data were obtained with cooperation from the police. Using the methodologies in a previous European study as a model, we classified the suicide methods into 8 categories. To examine the generational and regional differences in the choice of methods, we stratified the sample into 4 age groups (< or =24, 25 approximately 44, 45 approximately 64, and > or =65) and 2 regional groups (Okayama/Kurashiki vs. other areas). Our results on gender differences in 7 of the suicide methods were mostly similar to the European data. However, our data showed a remarkably higher proportionate male-to-female mortality ratio for poisoning by other substances (ICD-10, X65-X69 codes) (1.83, 1.15-2.92). In terms of generational differences in the choice of suicide methods, the Mantel-Haenszel test of homogeneity was significant for most of the categories in our study, suggesting an impact of age on how people commit suicide. There were no remarkable regional differences in our sample. An epidemic curve for suicides via carbon monoxide poisoning using charcoal briquets revealed a trend of time clustering not observed in the other 6 means. The database constructed and used in this study contains richer information than conventional death statistics and is expected to provide helpful knowledge and insights for future epidemiological studies.

Suicide Society?: Media Responsibility and Suicide in Japan

The number of suicides per year in Japan has exceeded 30,000 every year for the past 10 years. Due to this increase, the Japanese government has commenced reporting monthly suicides from 2009. Japan is truly becoming a “suicide society” with the number of suicides increasing gradually but steadily. A number of factors can be attributed to this increase in the number of suicides in Japan. The authors attempt to examine what role the media have in this alarming trend. This paper conducts a content analysis of the Asahi Newspaper, extracting articles headlining with the keyword suicide every five years from 1985. The findings are significant: (a) the notion that the media are inciting suicides through coverage of suicide incidents is not supported; (b) the true situation of suicides in Japan is not being correctly conveyed through the mainstream media, partially due to the number of suicides but also because of the increased coverage that the sensational suicide incidents receive. The paper also discusses the role of the Japanese media, and what kind of responsibility it should take to serve the public in providing correct information.

Analysis of pre-suicide signs: implications for suicide prevention

The EditorSir,The number of suicides in Japan has increased from about 22000 per year between 1988 to 1997 to over 30 000 per yearsince then. Mie Prefecture, in central Japan, has also seen anincrease in suicide. We believe suicide victims express sui-cidal signs before they act. According to a report by Yoshio-ka for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Scienceand Technology of Japan, which presented a statistical analy-sis of suicides in Mie Prefecture between 1989 to 1995, theprefecture showed intermediate levels of suicide and patternsof suicide similar to those of Japan as a whole (1). Therefore,the Mie Prefecture suicide data were analyzed as a reflectionof the national problem. In the present report, the authorsinvestigated the incidence and the circumstances surroundingall suicide cases from 1996 to 2002 in cooperation with thefirst department of criminal investigation of the MiePrefectura police headquarters. Pre-suicide signs were alsoexamined in detail. All data in the records were completelyanonymous after encoding.Pre-suicide signs were determined by psychiatric spe-cialists and divided into four stages: direct linguistic signs,indirect linguistic signs, direct action signs and indirect ac-tion signs. Direct linguistic signs are direct expressions ofsuicidal thoughts, such as

The importance of the frequency of suicide attempts as a risk factor of suicide

The number of suicides in Japan has increased from approximately 22,000 per year in 1988–1997 to over 30,000 per year since then. The number has also increased in Mie Prefecture during this period. According to many reports, suicide attempts are one of the risk factors of suicide. In the present study, we investigated the incidences and circumstances of all suicide cases between 1996 and 2002, focusing in detail on the frequency of suicide attempts and general differences in the frequency of all suicide cases. During the 7 years, 1979 male and 969 female suicides were reported to Mie Prefectural Police Headquarters. During the test period, there were suicide attempts in 13.4% of all suicidal cases, 10.7% for men and 18.9% for women. The average age was 48.98 years (SD 17.68), 47.07 years (SD 16.32) for men, and 51.19 years (SD 18.89) for women. Among men, we discovered the risk factors of suicide attempts in completed suicides, which were “single time” of suicide attempts, “living with family” for the family constitution, and “visiting treatment” of the admission statuses. Among women, the risk factors were “living with family” and “visiting treatment”. We must pay attention to those risk factors.

The correlation between unemployment and suicide rates in Japan between 1978 and 2004

The number of suicides in Japan has increased from approximately 22,000 per year from 1988 to 1997 to over 30,000 per year since then; this increase is among the most important problems facing Japan. Moreover, the unemployment rate in Japan has increased rapidly since 1998. In this study, we examined the total number of suicides and both the suicide and unemployment rates in Japan from 1978 to 2004. We also focused on the correlation between annual suicide rates in Japan and the annual unemployment rates during the study period. During that period, 455,357 males and 225,012 females committed suicide in Japan, and the suicide rates by sex were 27.8 males and 13.3 females per 100,000 population ( P < 0.05). The annual suicide rates among males correlated significantly with the annual unemployment rates: r(27) = 0.94, P < 0.001, while the female suicide rates did not correlate with the unemployment rates: r(27) = 0.39, P = 0.05. Thus, when unemployed men are observed to be depressed, it is important for those close to them, as well as their health care professionals, to pay careful attention to their behavior to detect suicidal tendencies or intentions.

A Correlation between Increases in Suicide Rates and Increases in Male Unemployment Rates in Mie Prefecture, Japan

The number of suicides in Japan has increased from approximately 22,000 per year in 1988-1997 to over 30,000 per year since then. It has also increased in Mie prefecture during that period. In the present study, we investigated the correlation between annual suicide rates in Mie prefecture, Japan from 1996-2002 and the annual unemployment rate in Japan from 1996-2002 among males. Among the results, annual suicide rates in total correlated with the unemployment rate in Japan, but the relation was not statistically significant: r(7)=0.76, r(2)(7)=0.58, p=0.05 (y=3.54x+6.37); the rates in males, however, correlated significantly with the unemployment rate in Japan: r(7)=0.85, r(2)(7)=0.73, p=0.01 (y=5.72x+4.49). In addition, we found that annual suicide rates in total correlated significantly with the male unemployment rates. When a patient is unemployed and in a bad situation, the medical staff and the family should be aware of the correspondence between suicide rates and unemployment.

Causative factors as cues for addressing the rapid increase in suicide in Mie Prefecture, Japan: Comparison of trends between 1996?2002 and 1989?1995

The number of suicides in Japan has increased from approximately 22 000 per year from 1988 to 1997 to >30 000 per year since 1998. Likewise, the number of suicides has been increasing in Mie Prefecture. The purpose of the present study was to examine the incidence of and circumstances surrounding all suicide cases during 1996-2002 in Mie Prefecture and to compare the data with those from 1989 to 1995. In Mie Prefecture, the age-specific suicide rate during the second 7-year period included marked increases among men aged 50-59 and 60-69 years. Among women, the age-specific suicide rate increased with age during both 7-year periods. During the second period, psychiatric disorders as causative factors increased in all generations. They were especially important for women of the younger generation, whereas economic problems were the most common causative factor among men aged 40-64. Physical illness as a causative factor in suicide was high among the elderly, but among the other age groups this factor trailed behind economic difficulties for men and psychiatric disorders for women. To prevent suicide, social cooperation as well as a plenitude of visiting nurses and psychiatric care is required, and early detection and treatment are also important.

Significant correlation of yearly suicide rates with the rate of unemployment among men results in a rapid increase of suicide in Mie Prefecture, Japan

The number of suicides in Japan has increased from approximately 22 000 per year in 1988–1997 to >30 000 per year since then. Likewise, the number of suicides has been increasing in Mie Prefecture. Many researchers consider that a major factor related to the number of suicides is an increase of unemployment in men;1,2 but it has not been described clearly in Mie Prefecture so far. According to Yoshioka, Mie Prefecture had intermediate suicide rates similar to the rates for Japan as a whole.3 It is possible to analyze enough suicide data for this prefecture to investigate the causes of suicide in detail. In the present study, we investigated the incidence and the circumstances of all suicide cases between 1989 and 2002 in cooperation with the First Department of Criminal Investigation of the Mie Prefectural Police Headquarters, and we investigated the unemployment rate from 1989 to 2002 in cooperation with the Department of Work in Mie Prefecture. In Japan, the annual rate of unemployment among the whole Japanese population and the current rate of unemployment are available for each Prefecture every 5 years, but the annual rate of unemployment is not available in each Prefecture. Therefore we calculated the correlation between the rate of unemployment every 5 years in the total Japanese population and that in Mie Prefecture for each sex. The correlations were r = 0.80 and r = 0.97 for men and women, respectively. Accordingly we considered that the rate of unemployment in the Japanese total reflected the rate of unemployment in Mie Prefecture. We focused on the correlation of yearly suicide rates in Mie Prefecture from 1989 to 2002, with the rate of unemployment in Japan from 1989 to 2002. The statistical analysis was performed using single regression analysis and Fisher’s exact test. During the test period, 3276 male and 1772 female suicides were reported to Mie Prefectural Police Headquarters. The suicide rates by sex were 26.2 (male) and 13.4 (female) per 100 000 (P < 0.05). Among the causative factors, ‘economic difficulties (including suffering from unemployment)’ was the second most prevalent in men (20.0%), and the least prevalent in women (5.0%). The yearly suicide rates for men correlated significantly with the unemployment rate in Japan: r(14) = 0.92, P < 0.001; the yearly sucidie rates for women also showed some correlation with the unemployment rate in Japan: r(14) = 0.56, P = 0.04. The factor of ‘economic difficulties’ is particularly relevant for the increase in suicide in men. When economic conditions become worse, people are exposed to more stress in the workplace.3–6 It should be noted that suicide rates were less related to the level of unemployment than to the change in situation from employment to unemployment. One typical case was the significant increase in suicide rates in the year 1997–1998 when such worsened changes of working conditions were observed. In 1997 and 1998, yearly suicide rates were 17.19 and 26.91, and the unemployment rates were 3.5 and 4.3, respectively. We conclude that psychosocial health care should be considered to be part of occupational affairs by industry physicians, primary care physicians and psychiatrists in order to prevent suicide, which is now a national increasing trend in Japan. When the patient is in a bad situation because of unemployment, the family and medical staff should be aware of the correspondence between suicide rates and unemployment.

Panic disorder and suicide in Mie Prefecture, Japan

The number of suicides in Japan has been increasing.1 It has increased from about 22 000 per year from 1988 to 1997 to over 30 000 per year since 1998, and the need to decrease suicidal numbers is one of the important problems in Japan. In Japan, 34 427 suicides in 2003 was the highest on record. In recent years, many researchers around the world have tried to elucidate almost every aspect of anxiety disorders. Among anxiety disorders, panic disorder is one of the psychiatric disorders that is most frequently diagnosed according to the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.2 There have been many reports on panic disorder.3–5 However, there are few reports on completed suicide in panic disorder patients. The increase in suicide is one of the crucial problems in the world. In addition, many reports have concluded that psychiatric disorders are the main reason for the increase.6 Therefore, it is important to elucidate the relationship between panic disorder and suicide. In this report, the authors examine the presence of panic disorder in all suicidal cases reported at Mie Prefectural Police Headquarters during the 7-year period from 1996 to 2002. Psychiatric specialists confirmed the diagnoses of psychiatric disorders. Mie Prefecture is located in the center of Japan. The population is approximately 1 800 000, with a population density of approximately 320 per km2. All data were completely anonymous after encoding. During the test period, 1979 male and 969 female suicides were reported to Mie Prefectural Police Headquarters, giving a male/female ratio of approximately 2:1. Among all the victims of completed suicide, nine exhibited panic disorder diagnosed by psychiatric specialists, including three men and six women. The results of Fisher’s exact test among suicides in Mie Prefecture and for completed suicides among individuals with panic disorder of this Prefecture showed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). Therefore, medical staff members should especially pay attention to female patients with panic disorder, who have a high risk of completed suicides. Of the nine victims of completed suicide who exhibited panic disorder, six suffered from major depression and panic disorder. There was a high rate of comorbidity of major depression and panic disorder among panic disorder patients in the current results, which are similar to the results of other reports. In the current results, the authors discovered that the risk of completed suicide among individuals with panic disorder is higher in women than men. The authors conclude that medical staff members must pay attention to suicide attempts and completed suicides in panic disorder patients who also exhibit other psychiatric disorders. Special attention should be paid to female patients with major depression and panic disorder. As they provide medical care to such patients, medical professionals should perform not only subjective evaluation but also objective evaluation of psychiatric symptoms as well as of suicidal risk. The current study involves suicides that occurred over a short-term of 7 years, from 1996 to 2002. Therefore, the authors intend to continue this investigation in the future so as to verify their results.

Suicide in Akita Prefecture, Japan

In recent years, the number of suicides in Japan has increased dramatically, particularly among middle-aged men. According to the Brief Report on Suicides in 2001 by the National Police Agency of Japan (NPA, 2002), the number of suicides in Japan was 31 042, and the national suicide rate was 24.4/100 000. Akita is an agricultural prefecture with a population of approximately 1 200 000. According to the Akita Prefectural Police (APP), the number of suicides in Akita Prefecture was 457 (299 males, 158 females) in 2001. Akita Prefecture currently has the highest rate of suicide in Japan. The identification of strategies for suicide prevention is therefore imperative.