The South African Civil Society Information Service

Global Financial Crisis: Suicide Rate Up in Japan

29 Apr 2009

The suicide forest can be found in the foothills of  Mount Fuji, Japan. It is difficult to be found in this forest. A phenomenon that attracts people contemplating suicide. In the past year, 170 people have committed suicide in the forest.  For the vulnerable, its become a forest of fears: fear of debt, fear of loneliness and fear of failure.

Yukio Sugiyama, a suicide survivor who was found in the forest says that one's occupation takes a very important place in one's life in Japan and if that is lost, then one loses one's position in society and one's existence seems to vanish with it.

Each year more than 31,000 people commit suicide in Japan. The number killing themselves has increased by 15% this year.

Volunteers at a suicide call centre, say they are receiving an increasing number of calls from people facing economic difficulty due to the economic downturn. People in their thirties appear most likely to be affected.

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You can find this page online at http://sacsis.org.za/site/article/129.19.