According to government
statistics, deaths in Japan during October have overwhelmingly been caused by
suicide, with suicide cases claiming more lives than the COVID-19 pandemic since
its initiation in early 2020.

The number of monthly
deaths caused from suicide rose to 2,153 in October, a report published by CNN quoted
the Japan’s National Policy Agency as saying.

The report further quotes
the Health Ministry of the East Asian country and adds as a scale measurement Japan’s
COVID-19 death toll as of Friday, which stood at 2,087.

Japan is in possession of one
of the most recent suicide data – the most recent US suicide data, in
comparison, is from 2018.

According to World Health Organization,
the country has struggled with one of the highest suicide rates in the world for
a long time. In 2016, the suicide mortality rate in the country was situated at
a 18.5/100,000 people, second only to South Korea in the Western Pacific
Region.

However, the number of
total deaths has started decreasing in the last 10 years leading up to 2019, ultimately
falling down to 20,000 last year – the lowest since health authorities in the country
started maintaining records in 1978.

During the pandemic, however,
a shift has taken place, as suicides among women in Japan has increased by almost
83%, compared to the same month a year back in 2019. Over the same time period,
male suicides rose for about 22%.

The report states several
reasons, including women making up the larger percentage of part-time workers
in hospitality and retail industries, areas particularly affected by layoffs.