The Suicide Epidemic in Japan Annotated Bibliography

Nakao, Mutsuhiro, and Takeaki Takeuchi. "The suicide epidemic in Japan and strategies of depression screening for its prevention." Bulletin of the World Health Organization 84.6 (2006): 492-493.

The article gives the ubiquity of suicide across the world and attributes it to the cause of about one million deaths globally every year. Based on the data by the World Health Organization (WHO), the article contends that about 20 times those who die worldwide due to suicide attempt the act. It attributes suicide incidences to depression. It argues that research has established the critical role that depression plays in the etiology of suicide. It also presents that suicide results from effects of economic distress.

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According to the article, suicide is highly prevalent in Japan despite its high population. Globally, Japan is ranked 9th globally based on the prevalence of suicide. Furthermore, the authors contend that the reported incidences of suicide in Japan increased dramatically from 17.6% to 25.1% per one hundred thousand people between 1995 and 2005. Basing on other studies, the writers further associates the increased incidences of suicide in Japan to the economic depression that occurred during the same time within which the rates increased. In response this worrying trend, the Japanese National Committee was established to address it. Some of the proposal that this committee made include pre-intervention which entail identification of the specific factors affecting suicide; an intervention which includes identification of high-risk persons and post-intervention which involve providing adequate social support for the families and friends of those who have committed. One way of reducing the rates of suicide in Japan is by the government putting in place adequate measures to protect the economy from depression and, availing lucrative jobs to all. Also, government agencies and public health sector players must partner in helping the potentially suicidal individuals to prevent them from being at risk. This approach requires an initial identification of the specific individuals who are at risk of depression which is a critical risk factor for suicide. Identification of role at risk implies carrying out regular screening tests for depression not only in the workplace but also in the broader community.

Schaede, Ulrike. "Sunshine and Suicides in Japan: revisiting the relevance of economic determinants of suicide." Journal of the German Institute for Japanese Studies Tokyo 25.2 (2013): 105-126.

The authors present that the rates of suicide across the world vary from one country to the other. Nonetheless, it is difficult to make actual comparisons of suicide prevalence due to the many unreported cases and difficulty of distinguishing whether the causes of deaths are from natural attrition or any other factors other than suicide. Nonetheless, based on the approximated date by the World Health Organization (WHO), the article provides that in 2009, Japan recorded a suicide rate of 36.2 for males and 13.2 for females. The competitive data shows that there is a higher rate of suicide among men than women across all the three countries including the United States of America, Germany, and Japan.

Based on the World Health Organisation records, the article elucidates that the vulnerability of Japanese to death as a result of suicide is 4.5 times that of traffic accidents as well as 40 times that of homicide. According to the authors, the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare for the first time in 2001 intervened in the case of suicide in the country by budgeting for its prevention measures. Also, the ministry further issues a new module of treatment for depression in 2004 followed by a 2006 government new law dubbed as "Basic Law on Suicide Prevention." The article provides that there is a significant correlation between suicide and unemployment. There is also a significant correlation between unemployment and sunshine. Nonetheless, they argue that research has established that unemployment is not an essential factor for suicide in high-sunshine prefectures. However, in places receiving low sunshine, the effect of unemployment on the suicide rate rises significantly. Furthermore, Japan has focused on using economic variables to assess the prevalence of suicide in the country.

Socio-economic research in Japan needs to embrace a paradigm shift from just concentrating on economic variables and their relationship with the rate of suicide in the country to a broader focus involving the inclusion of measures of general well-being such as stability of the family, access to social services and mental status of the population. The government must also focus on asserting the importance of proper social welfare as well as economic support through initiatives such as loans to reduce the possibility of mental distress.

Ohtsu, Tadahiro, et al. "Blue Monday phenomenon among men: suicide deaths in Japan." Acta Medica Okayama 63.5 (2009): 231-236.

The article provides essential information about the abnormally high cases of suicide in Japan. It also points to a possible correlation between work structure and the possibility of committing suicide in what it christens as the "Blue Monday Phenomenon among Men." This trend shows that suicide deaths are likely to occur on Mondays when the people need to report to work. The authors present that for people undergoing depression, the beginning of a week triggers the feeling of isolation and personal failure in the job places which increase their risk of committing suicide. The article gives systematic the inter-temporal fluctuations of incidences of in Japan. It also presents the disparities of suicide incidences between men and women Japanese. It also uses data from national research to provide a critical analysis of how work relates to the possibility of suicide thus pointing to the potential correlation and causation between work structure and suicide among the Japanese men. Job stress results in mental distress and depression which results in suicide. There is a need for employers to make a proper schedule by balancing the work week to include off days, that helps in attain a balance between the "holiday effect" from weekends and the "broken promise effect" posed by the challenges at work." For instance, the employers should consider making Wednesday a holiday than making one of the weekend days a working day instead of the standard two days-weekend.

Wilson, Magdalena M. "Suicide: A Unique Epidemic in Japan." Vanderbilt Undergraduate Research Journal 7 (2011).

The article provides an insightful relationship between suicide and mental disorder such as depression, drug use including drinking alcohol.

The authors indicate the interventions for cases of suicide such as publishing the Suicide Prevention Manual: Early Detection and How to Deal with Depression in General Medical Institutions by the Japan Medical Association (JMA). It also shows the annual fluctuations in reported cases of suicide which remains relatively higher compared to most countries of the world. It also relates suicide incidences of suicide in Japanese to other causes of fatality such as traffic accidents with an indication that it is six times the likelihood of death from road accidents. It also traces the net effect of suicide deaths in Japan beyond the mere loss of lives. It also explores the various initiatives by JMA such as conducting workshops to improve the ability of primary care physicians in responding to causative factors for the problem such as depression The public health system in Japan should establish seamless cooperation with the physicians, community, and psychiatrists, also, the government and advocacy organizations to collaborate in raising the awareness on how lifestyle practices such as drinking alcohol cause the risk of suicide. The education system should also be broadened to include an explicit focus on mental disorders and suicide prevention.

Japan Medical Association Mental Health Committee. "Depression and Suicide Countermeasures in Japan." JMAJ 56.3 (2013): 129-142.

The authors contend that suicide is a growing public health problem globally. It provides an international outlook of suicide that it is increasing 60 percent in the last 45 years. It also gives a regional impression of the incidences of suicide where it explores its prevalence in

South-eastern and the Western Pacific regions of Asia. The article gives a traditional as well as a modern outlook of suicide in Japan. It explores how practices such as seppuku, (a ritualized form of suicide by disembowelment) give it a cultural impression. It provides an epidemiological insight into how health complications such as psychological disorder result in increased risk of suicide among the Japanese. The Japanese government should cooperate with public health sector in developing a community-based suicide reduction program. The program should help me multi-faced to include raising public awareness about the epidemic, specialist training in prevention of suicide, appropriate screening for risk factor such as depression, counseling for at-risk people and establishing social support networks for senior citizens to decrease isolation.