An especially tough year for many Japanese women
The pressures of the pandemic in Japan have been compounded for women: More women have lost their jobs, and one in five women in Tokyo live alone. Others have struggled with deep disparities in the division of housework and child care.
The psychological toll has been accompanied by a worrisome spike in suicides: In Japan, 6,976 women died by suicide last year, nearly 15 percent more than in 2019. It was the first year-over-year increase in more than a decade.
Each suicide — and suicide attempt — represents an individual tragedy rooted in a complex constellation of reasons. But the increase among women has concerned health officials who have worked to reduce what was among the highest suicide rates in the world.
Context: Openness about mental health struggles and seeking treatment are still relatively rare in Japan. There is also stigma around those who contract the virus.
Quotable: “The world I was living in was already small,” said Nazuna Hashimoto, who attempted suicide in July and is now speaking out about her experience because she wants to address the stigma associated with mental health. “But I felt it become smaller.”
The New York Times
