@AFP and post earthquake sensationalism of suicides

TOKYO —

The number of people who took their own lives in Japan drastically increased in the aftermath of last year’s huge tsunami and the nuclear disaster it triggered, the government says.  A more than 20% rise in the amount of suicides in one month was likely attributable at least in part to the widespread anxiety Japanese society felt in the aftermath of the catastrophe, an official said.

In May last year 3,375 people killed themselves, more than 20% up on the same month a year earlier... (AFP)  http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/suicides-in-japan-spiked-after-march-11-disaster

AFP (Agence France-Presse) has continued to propagate the myth that suicides in Japan have risen drastically as a result of the earthquake, syndicating stories that are at best gross distortions.  It might make for dramatic headlines, but it is minimizing the resilience of the people in the most affected areas,  it's demoralizing for the people who are working hard to reduce Japan's suicide rate, and trivializes the complex reasons behind suicide in Japan.

There was  a spike in suicides in May following the earthquake but data released by the Cabinet Office last week shows that was an aberration for the year and overall there was a 3.3% decrease in suicide numbers nationwide.  This decrease also listed Miyagi and Iwate as among the top 5 prefectures to have had a decrease in numbers, Fukushima, and every other prefecture in Tohoku also registered a decrease. 

The actual figures are here.

  

  Heisei 23 (red line) = 2011

  Heisei 22 (green line) = 2010

  Heisei 21( blue line) = 2009

  Heisei 20 (pale blue-green line) = 2008

Or in table form

For more detail and a prefectural breakdown see
http://www8.cao.go.jp/jisatsutaisaku/toukei/pdf/siryou/gaikyou.pdf