In Japan, there have probably been pandemic deaths and celebrities behind the suicides

Japan has experienced an increase in the number of people who have ended their lives in recent months, as anxieties caused by the coronavirus pandemic take their toll emotionally and psychologically.

It is believed that the trend has been exacerbated by the apparent suicides of celebrities and has caused mental experts to rush to respond.

Yasuyuki Shimizu, representative director of the Center for the Promotion of Suicide Measures in Japan, warned that the risk of suicide has been growing in Japan, especially for women, and its figures confirm its concern.

Suicides for women began to increase in June compared to a year earlier and November marked the sixth consecutive month of increase, registering a jump of 88.6% in October, according to provisional data from the Agency National Police compiled on December 16th. From July to November it also increased a year earlier.

“The anxieties or problems that women tend to face have probably worsened during the pandemic,” Shimizu said, with factors such as mental illness, economic and work difficulties, parenting, and domestic violence contributing to pandemic rates. female suicide.

“Currently, it is not uncommon for women to be the main breadwinners in their homes, although many of them remain in non-permanent positions. If they are fired or their contracts are not renewed, it affects not only them, but whole families, ”he said.

Professional counselors have also been establishing a link between the pandemic and the increased risk of suicide.

The non-profit organization Tokyo Mental Health Square, near Ikebukuro Station, offers inquiries via private messaging, telephone and face-to-face meetings, among others.

Advisors pay close attention to the particular cues provided by clients when assessing their level of risk. These include whether they express a firm intention to commit suicide rather than an imprecise desire, indicate a method, or specify a place and date, according to Katsuyoshi Shingyouchi, head of the organization’s counseling center.

If counselors judge a client to have a high risk of suicide, they report the case to police, who are asking telecommunications companies to reveal personal information about the person, Shingyouchi said.

“I was talking to my staff around August that there might be something going on as the number of cases we reported to the police was increasing,” he said.

The following month, the center saw an increase in the number of people accessing its social media consultation service following the death of popular actress Yuko Takeuchi in an apparent suicide, with daily consultations going from 200 to about 1,800 shortly after his death.

The deaths of Takeuchi, 40, in late September, and that of actor Haruma Miura, 30, in July, are some of the reported cases in Japan of celebrities who appear to have taken their lives during the pandemic.

“Those who were barely hanging under the stress of the pandemic may have let go, possibly driven by apparent suicides by well-known actors and news about them,” Shimizu of the JSCP said.

The number of suicides in Japan decreased annually in the ten years until 2019. However, the accumulated figure from January to November this year reached 19,225, approaching the total of 20,169 in 2019, according to data of the police.

Deeply concerned about the trend, Shimizu said the government should consider relaxing eligibility requirements for welfare payments to help people overcome the difficulties caused by the pandemic.

Information about the welfare system should also be made more aggressive so that people who need it understand how the system can help them, said Shimizu, whose work includes advising a group of lawmakers tasked with preventing suicide.

“If people are considered ineligible for emergency aid or other support measures, they should not have the impression that their lives are over. As a last resort, there are always welfare payments,” he said. and stressed that welfare is not a charity, but a public system that all eligible people have the right to use.

“Now is more than ever the time to make the most of this public system,” he said.

Regarding the influence of media reports on apparent celebrity suicides, Shimizu said the mainstream media appear to be more cautious in the way they report, according to World Health Organization guidelines. But there is still room for improvement in terms of the type of stories that populate the Internet and social media, he said.

“It is crucial to develop a system that prevents the continued dissemination of sensational reports,” he added.

The WHO Suicide Prevention Resource for Media Professionals states that special care should be taken when reporting suicides involving celebrities who are often revered by the community and who may influence the behavior of vulnerable individuals.

“Reports should not enchant suicide, they should not describe the method in detail and they should comment on its impact on others,” he says, adding that information on where to seek help should be included in any history of suicide.

If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of emergency, call 119 in Japan for immediate help. The TELL Lifeline is available for those who need free and anonymous advice at 03-5774-0992. You can also visit telljp.com. For those in other countries, visit www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html for a detailed list of resources and help.