Japan has long struggled with mental health, becoming one of the world capitals for suicide. New data now confirms that although the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, more people have died in Japan in just one month from suicide than from COVID-19 all year long.
Japan's suicide numbers reached 2,153 in October alone with more than 17,000 people taking their own lives so far this year, according to the National Police Agency.
To put that in perspective, fewer than 2,000 people in Japan have died from COVID-19 in 2020, as highlighted by Fox News.
Experts believe the pandemic worsened the already depressed mental state of many Japanese individuals. With isolation from family members, unemployment and other financial concerns, mental health issues and suicide increased. Japan has always had high suicide rates, but figures began trending downwards in the past few years. This pandemic turned that progress upside down.
"We need to seriously confront reality," chief government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said as he announced initiatives to help with mental health issues such as social media outrage campaigns and suicide hotlines.
The situation in Japan has gotten so bad that Japanese authorities have increased suicide prevention funding, adding an additional $10 million to the $24 million budget.
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