2023 Volume 35 Issue 2 Pages 105-113
Characteristics and factors contributing to suicide trends in Japan during the Coronavirus Disaster was reviewed. The spread of the novel coronavirus beginning in 2020 led to the first increase in annual suicides in 11 years. The increase was attributed to both mental health and socioeconomic factors, and to the combined effects of issues at the individual (infection, pre-existing conditions), group (youth, women, restaurant industry, etc.), and societal (media coverage, limited suicide prevention activities) levels. Therefore, the revised Comprehensive National Suicide Prevention Guidelines in 2022 will focus on individual mental health measures, including the use of ICT for counseling, training of mental health and welfare service personnel, improvement of psychiatric care, and enhancement of measures for persons who have attempted suicide. There are high expectations for general hospital psychiatry departments in terms of additional medical care for those who attempt suicide. To prevent after-coronas from further increasing the number of suicides, general hospital psychiatry departments need to improve their support for suicide attempters.
