Editorial: Suicides decline, but youth rate still a key concern

February 4 , 2019

Japan’s suicide rate has declined for nine consecutive years, by the number of young people who are taking their own lives remains unchanged. According to the National Police Agency, 20,598 people committed suicide in 2018, down by 723, a decline of 40% from its peak of 34,427 in 2003.

Nevertheless, the rate is still high compared to other countries. As many as 600 people under the age of 19 have continued to die over the past ten years. Several root causes are being cited, including distress over future career paths, family discord, bullying or sexual issues. Many of the deaths involve minors who exhibited no indication of their intentions, preventing people around them from dissuading them.

It seems as though the wall is too high for young people contemplating ending their lives to reach out for help. So the questions is, what steps can we, as adults, take to lower that wall? For one, every community must work more closely with schools, families and local government agencies to become more sensitive to the SOS these youth almost always send out and develop ways to address their plight, including the setting up of hotlines and offering specialist help through social media.

In short, every initiative that can be adopted should be adopted to provide our young people with a real sense of hope for the future. That responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of adults.