Changes in the characteristics of suicide in Japan in the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of continued suicide prevention measures

According to a report from the National Police Agency, ¹ the total annual number of suicides in Japan decreased during the years 2009 and 2010 from 32,845 to 31,690, respectively, and then to 20,169 in 2019. Although the number of suicides had decreased each year for 10 consecutive years, in 2020 (the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic), the number increased to 21,081 and remained high in 2021 at 21,007. The annual number of suicides among males in Japan decreased from 2009 to 2010 (23,472 and 22,283, respectively) and then to 13,939 in 2021, reflecting the decrease that occurred for 12 consecutive years. Among females, although the annual number of decreased from 2011 to 2012 (9,696 and 8,585, respectively) and then to 6,495 in 2017, the number increased in 2018 (to 6,550) and remained at 6,091 in 2019, 7,026 in 2020, and 7,068 in 2021, and it has remained at ∼7,000 for 2 years.

During 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, there was an increase in suicide by ‘younger people’, ‘females’, and where ‘the primary motive was unclear’. ² During the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021, there was a similar increase in suicide by ‘younger people’ and ‘females’ in Japan. ³

According to preliminary figures in a report from the National Police Agency, ⁴ the annual number of suicides in Japan during the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022, totaled 21,584, representing an increase of 577 suicides from the number in 2021. The mean annual number of suicides for the combined COVID years 2020 and 2021 remained at around 21,000, representing an increase from the 2019 value. That trend has continued, and there have been signs of an increase in 2022 from the prior two years. Among males, the 2022 number of suicides was 14,543, representing an increase of 604 suicides from the 2021 value. Although the annual number of suicides among males had decreased since 2010, including the COVID years 2020 and 2021, this number has now increased for the first time in 13 years. Among females in Japan, there were 7,041 suicides in 2022, representing a slight decrease from the 2021 value, but the annual number of suicides has remained at ∼7000 during the pandemic since 2020. It was also reported that there was an increase in suicide in Japan in 2022 by “middle-aged males in their 40s–60s” and “the unemployed and pensioners.” ⁴

The national and prefectural governments in Japan have responded to these increases in suicide with support such as disbursements to the public and financial assistance to businesses, but we speculate that the above-described increases in suicides may be due to the social and economic difficulties of restrictions imposed during the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. An increase in suicide due to unemployment and economic hardships and an increase in suicide by middle-aged males related to those problems are evident. In other words, there has been an increase in suicide among middle-aged males and an increase in suicide by the unemployed in Japan in 2022 (the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic) compared to 2020 and 2021. In addition, an increase in suicide by pensioners has been noted, and if this trend continues, an increase in suicides among the elderly may occur in the future. Measures to prevent suicide by younger people and females are also required. In light of the deepening impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic over a period of several years and the increasing number of suicides in Japan, it is necessary to provide and implement further comprehensive measures to prevent suicides.