New statistics on suicide released by Japan’s health ministry indicate a growing sense of despair among the nation’s working men, as the coronavirus pandemic is blamed for job cuts at large companies, worsening workplace conditions and year-end bonuses evaporating.
According to the ministry, 705 men aged between 20 and 59 took their own lives in September, up 56 cases or 8.6 per cent from the same month last year. It was a similar situation in August, with 706 suicides, an increase of 6.6 per cent on the same month in 2019. In total, 1,805 people in Japan took their own lives in September, up 143 deaths from the same month a year previously.
“It’s a combination of things, but it can all be traced back to the impact of the coronavirus. As well as costing jobs, the virus has changed the way we have to work,” said “Lucky” Morimoto, founder of the Event Services Inc. incentive travel company.
“We used to live in a world where people had to talk face-to-face with customers and colleagues, and then we would go out for drinks after work. But that has gone now. We have to stay at home, we have to work remotely, people are lonely because they are not having any human interactions.”
MORE In Japan, suicide rates among men rise as coronavirus impact hits hard | South China Morning Post