Leading causes of death among men Japan 2022

In 2022, malignant neoplasms were the leading cause of death among the male population in Japan at around 223.3 thousand cases. This number accounted for approximately 28 percent of about 799.4 thousand death cases of men recorded in the country during that year. Heart diseases, excluding hypertensive, followed with a share of around 14 percent.

Malignant neoplasms

In recent years, malignant neoplasms have been the leading cause of death for both female and male populations in Japan. The most frequent cause of cancerous tumor related deaths has continued to be lung cancer for both men and women. As smoking and passive smoking are some of the main causes of lung cancer, the health ministry in Japan set the goal of reducing the smoking rate of adults from around 19 to 12 percent by 2022. To minimize the risk of passive smoking, the government also amended the Health Promotion Act and prohibited smoking in public facilities, offices, most restaurants, and public areas starting from April 2020.

Suicide

One of the leading causes of death specific to men in Japan was suicide. In the last decade, the number of suicides committed by men in Japan remained roughly double the number of those committed by women. While close to half of the suicides in Japan were committed due to health reasons in previous years, the number of suicides owning to work-related problems has also become a serious social issue in the current Japanese society. One of the reason behind it is said to be the working condition of employees in Japan with a severe workload. The government has been aiming to reduce working hours and overtime to improve the working conditions of workers in Japan.