Abstract
Suicide is a global public health problem and solutions to it can be found only through a global dialog. The suicide rate in Japan has been alarming, but Japan has made substantial efforts to reduce this rate, making prevention a high priority. This report reviews the developmental stages of a comprehensive policy of suicide prevention in Japan from 1998 to 2013. Our review suggests that suicide prevention activities were facilitated by the 2006 Basic Act for Suicide Prevention and the 2007 General Principles of Suicide Prevention Policy. Along with the establishment of a Special Fund program for local governments, the Basic Act and General Principles led to the development of a comprehensive and multi-sector approach to suicide prevention. Suicide rates in Japan, especially among middle-aged men, decreased consistently after 2009, suggesting that the initiatives were effective. Continuous monitoring is needed to evaluate Japan’s suicide prevention policy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
World Health Organization. (2010) Towards Evidence-based Suicide Prevention Programmes. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, http://www.wpro.who.int/mnh/TowardsEvidencebasedSPP.pdf.
Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (2013) Jisatsu-Taisaku Hakusyo 2013. Tokyo, Japan: Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, [in Japanese].
Oyama, H., Goto, M., Fujita, M., Shibuya, H. and Sakashita, T. (2006) Preventing elderly suicide through primary care by community-based screening for depression in rural Japan. Crisis 27 (2): 58–65.
Fujita, T. (2010) Analysis on suicide death using vital statistics. Journal of the Japanese Association of Psychiatric Hospitals 29 (3): 216–222, [in Japanese].
Amagasa, T. (2011) Sukueru Shi. Tokyo, Japan: Shin-Nihon Publishing, [in Japanese].
Takeshima, T. and Kawano, K. (2009) Basic Act for Suicide Prevention. In: Y. Takahashi and T. Takeshima (eds.) Jisatsu-yobou no jissai. Tokyo, Japan: Nagaishoten, pp. 16–23, [in Japanese].
Andriessen, K. (2009) Can postvention be prevention? Crisis 30 (1): 43–47.
Taylor, S.J., Kingdom, D. and Jenkins, R. (1997) How are nations trying to prevent suicide? An analysis of national suicide prevention strategies. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 95 (6): 457–463.
Matsubayashi, T. and Ueda, M. (2011) The effect of national suicide prevention programs on suicide rates in 21 OECD nations. Social Science & Medicine 73 (9): 1395–1400.
U.S. Government Printing Office. (2004) The Garrett Lee Smith memorial act, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-108publ355/html/PLAW-108publ355.htm, accessed 24 October 2013.
Fujiwara, N. (2011) Kankoku no jisatsuyobou-hou. Gaikoku-no-rippou 250: 193–205, [in Japanese].
Government of Canada. (2012) Federal framework for suicide prevention act, http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/annualstatutes/2012_30/page-1.html, accessed 24 October 2013.
World Health Organization. (2013) Suicide prevention (SUPRE), http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suicideprevent/en/, accessed 24 October 2013.
Sakurai, H. (2003) Healthy Japan 21. Journal of the Japan Medical Association 6 (2): 47–49.
United Nations. (1996) Prevention of Suicide: Guidelines for the Formulation and Implementation of National Strategies. New York: United Nations.
World Health Organization. (2014) Preventing Suicide: A Global Imperative. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/131056/1/9789241564779_eng.pdf?ua=1.
Center for Suicide Prevention. (2012) Todo-fuken/seirei-shiteitoshi ni okeru jisatsu-taisaku oyobi jishi-izoku-shien no torikumi-jyoukyou ni kansuru cyousa houkokusyo, http://ikiru.ncnp.go.jp/ikiru-hp/index.html, accessed 24 October 2013, [in Japanese].
Center for Suicide Prevention. (2012) Jisatsu-taisaku no torikumi no furikaeri-cyousa houkokusyo: todo-fuken/seirei-shiteitoshi eno shitumonshi-cyousa wo motoni, http://ikiru.ncnp.go.jp/ikiru-hp/index.html, accessed 24 October 2013, [in Japanese].
Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (2013) Jisatsu-taisaku, http://www8.cao.go.jp/jisatsutaisaku/index.html, accessed 24 October 2013 [in Japanese].
Ishida, T. (2010) The cooperation between psychiatrists and general physicians concerning the selfsuicide prevention: A new trial about the projection of the selfsuicide prevention Fuji-model. Journal of Japanese Association of Psychiatric Hospitals 29 (3): 234–239, [in Japanese].
World Health Organization. (2012) World Health Organization visit to Japan (January 2012) on suicide prevention: Final report, http://ikiru.ncnp.go.jp/ikiru-hp/pdf/120507-1.pdf, accessed 24 October 2013.
Administrative Evaluation Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. (2012) Jisatsu-yobou taisaku ni kansuru gyousei-hyouka/kanshi, http://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/000059216.html, accessed 24 October 2013, [in Japanese].
National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry and the Working Group for Proposal of the Revision of General Principles of Suicide Prevention Policy. (2012) Jisatsu-sougou-taisaku-taikou no minaoshi-ni mukete-no teigen, http://ikiru.ncnp.go.jp/ikiru-hp/120611teigen.html, accessed 24 October 2013, [in Japanese].
Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (2012) Jisatsu-sougou-taisaku-taikou: dare mo jisatsu ni oikomareru kotononai syakai no jitsugen wo mezashite [General principles for suicide prevention policy: Achieving a society where nobody is driven to suicide], http://www8.cao.go.jp/jisatsutaisaku/taikou/index_20120828.html, accessed 24 October 2013, [in Japanese].
Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (2012) 2012 white paper on suicide prevention in Japan: Digest version, http://www8.cao.go.jp/jisatsutaisaku/whitepaper/en/w-2012/summary.html, accessed 24 October 2013.
Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (2014) Jisatsu-Taisaku Hakusyo 2014. Tokyo, Japan: Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, [in Japanese].
Nakanishi, M., Yamauchi, T. and Takeshima, T. (in press) National strategy for suicide prevention in Japan: The impact of a national fund on the progress of developing systems for suicide prevention and implementing initiatives among local authorities. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences.
Motohashi, Y. (2012) Suicide in Japan. Lancet 379 (9823): 1282–1283.
World Health Organization. (2013) Mental health action plan 2013–2020. Geneva: World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mental_health/publications/action_plan/en/.
Ono, Y. et al (2013) Effectiveness of a multimodal community intervention program to prevent suicide and suicide attempts: A quasi-experimental study. PLoS One 8 (10): e74902.
Acknowledgements
We extend our gratitude to Dr Shekhar Saxena, Dr Alexandra Fleischmann, and Dr Yutaro Setoya of the World Health Organization, and Dr Wang Xiangdung of the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office. We also would like to thank Japan’s Cabinet Office and Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan for their support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Japan, having made suicide prevention a top priority, is reducing these deaths especially among a high risk group of middle aged men. The approach is comprehensive and multi-sectoral; it will require constant monitoring.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Takeshima, T., Yamauchi, T., Inagaki, M. et al. Suicide prevention strategies in Japan: A 15-year review (1998–2013). J Public Health Pol 36, 52–66 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2014.42
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2014.42