In Japan, more people died from suicide last month than from Covid in all of 2020. And women have been impacted most

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Sun, 2020-11-29 15:58 — mike kraft

In Japan, more people died from suicide last month than from Covid in all of 2020 More people died from suicide in Japan in October than succumbed to Covid-19 all year. And more women are taking their own lives, as they lose part-time work and take on the bulk of family responsibilities at home. Selina Wang, Rebecca Wright and Yoko Wakatsuki, CNN CNN

... Experts have warned that the pandemic could lead to a mental health crisis. Mass unemployment, social isolation, and anxiety are taking their toll on people globally.

In Japan, government statistics show suicide claimed more lives in October than Covid-19 has over the entire year to date. The monthly number of Japanese suicides rose to 2,153 in October, according to Japan's National Police Agency. As of Friday, Japan's total Covid-19 toll was 2,087, the health ministry said.

Japan is one of the few major economies to disclose timely suicide data -- the most recent national data for the US, for example, is from 2018. The Japanese data could give other countries insights into the impact of pandemic measures on mental health, and which groups are the most vulnerable.

"We didn't even have a lockdown, and the impact of Covid is very minimal compared to other countries ... but still we see this big increase in the number of suicides," said Michiko Ueda, an associate professor at Waseda University in Tokyo, and an expert on suicides.

"That suggests other countries might see a similar or even bigger increase in the number of suicides in the future." ...

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