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In 2023, the 50 to 59-year age group had the highest suicide rate in Japan, with 23.4 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Middle-aged men are frequently portrayed as the highest-risk group for suicide in Japan. On the other hand, suicides among the elderly and schoolchildren are also recurrently picked up by the media.

Japan's recent suicide rates

Japan’s suicide numbers peaked in 2009 when the country experienced its worst recession since World War II. That same year, the suicide rate surged to 25.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants and almost 33 thousand victims in total. While the country's suicide rate has shown a steady downward trend in the most recent decade, 2020 marked the first time within the past decade that suicide numbers were rising again. The COVID-19 pandemic likely caused this upward trend.
From a gender perspective, Japanese men are more likely to commit suicide than women. In 2023, 24.6 deaths per 100,000 male inhabitants were reported, compared to a female suicide rate of 10.9 in the same year.

 What are the reasons behind Japan’s high suicide rates? 

Many factors are being blamed for the Japan's high suicide rates, including financial anxiety, bullying, isolation, and a lack of a proficient mental healthcare system. Historically, the country's high suicide rates have been closely linked to the economic situation of the individuals. Existential worries and problems directly related to work have been one of the main reasons for self-inflicted deaths in the past years.
In the past 10 years, one of the most profound issues faced by employees in Japan leading to self-harm was exhaustion. An increasing pressure of retaining jobs by putting in more hours of overtime, while taking fewer holidays and sick days, are considered the main motivators behind the rising suicide numbers among office workers and employees. Occupational sudden mortality, known as karoshi (“death by overwork”) is a well-known phenomenon in Japanese society. Besides physical pressure, mental stress from the workplace can cause karoshi. Suicide due to occupational stress or overwork is called karojisatsu (“overwork suicide”) in Japan.