The number of people who commit suicide nationwide tends to increase from last year, especially for women.

According to an expert survey, one in four women under the age of 40 experienced unemployment and a significant decrease in working hours, and was forced into a psychologically difficult situation.

The number of people who committed suicide nationwide has increased from last year for five consecutive months until last month, but women are particularly serious and have increased to more than 1.8 times last year depending on the month.



Michiko Ueda, an associate professor at Waseda University who is an expert in public policy and is familiar with the issue of suicide, surveyed 1,000 men and women nationwide every month from April on the Internet to find out the background. We are investigating.



According to the report, between June and October, 25% of women under the age of 40 said they had "experienced unemployment, leave of absence, and a significant decrease in working hours in the last three months."



This is more than 6 points higher than the overall average and more than 8 points higher than men of the same age.



In addition, a survey using a simple questionnaire called "PHQ-9" to check the psychological state was also conducted, and it is said that about 30% of both men and women under the age of 40 may be depressed in any month. I did.



In other age groups, about 20% of both men and women are 40 to 59 years old, and about 10% are over 60 years old, indicating that the younger generation, especially the active generation, is in a difficult situation.



Associate Professor Ueda said, "The new Corona was influenced by many industries such as accommodation and sales where women are engaged, and there are also many non-regular workers, so the economic impact is concentrated on women of this age. There may be psychological effects. "



Apart from this survey, Associate Professor Ueda analyzes the dangerous times when suicides increase by gender and age based on data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for the past 40 years and recent words on Twitter.



In the younger generation, both men and women tend to be dangerous from midnight to early morning, and in middle-aged and older women, women tend to be in danger during the day and men in the morning.

Based on this analysis, Associate Professor Ueda said, "Dangerous times vary depending on gender and age, and it is necessary to enhance a seamless consultation system according to that. People who are in trouble as human relationships change significantly with the new corona. It is important for society as a whole to create a system in which someone can immediately seek help. "

"24-hour consultation" Closely related to the activities of NPOs in Tokyo

New efforts have also begun to seamlessly respond to the consultations of those who have problems.



Tokyo's NPO "Your Ibasho", which collaborates with experts such as Associate Professor Ueda, has been providing consultations 24 hours a day via internet chat since March.



There are about 800 volunteer counselors, including those who are undergoing training, and 30% of them are Japanese living overseas.



Even at night when there are many serious consultations, we are trying to respond seamlessly by using the time difference.



When a person with a problem posts via chat from the NPO homepage, the counselor immediately responds and interacts.



NHK covered the chat mode based on the NPO regulations that users agree on.



Of these, a post from a woman in her 40s living in Kansai said, "I still want to die. I also buy ropes."



The counselor responds, "Do you have it now? If so, why don't you put it away and then talk?" And continue the dialogue.



The woman was dismissed in October due to poor performance at her company and says she still can't find a job.



The woman repeatedly posts, "I've been desperately looking for a job since I was fired." "It's hard enough to die right now."



The counselor continued the dialogue, accepting the words of the woman, saying, "You were looking for a job every day." "You can see how you are doing your best."



Approximately 80% of the counseling users are women, and since the summer, the number of counseling on worries related to the new coronavirus has increased rapidly, and serious ones suggesting suicide are becoming more prominent.



This NPO is also trying to access the person who wrote it by searching for suicide-related words posted on SNS, saying that waiting for posts from users is not enough.



Instead of sending a message, I just press the "Like" button to let me know that there is an NPO consultation desk.



On the other hand, the number of consultations continues to increase, and the percentage of counselors who cannot keep up with them and can respond was about 80% in the spring, but recently it has only been about 60%.

Koboshi Ozora (22), a third-year university student who is the representative of an NPO, said, "It is very important to contact people who want to die as soon as possible and listen to their worries in order to prevent suicide. However, as social unrest spreads due to the spread of the new corona infection, we are currently unable to respond to the rapidly increasing number of consultations. We will expand our system to respond to concerns as soon as possible by increasing the number of counselors. I want to. "

The consultation desk is

On the website of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, contact information for telephone consultations by local governments and the QR code of consultation counters provided by multiple NPOs on SNS are posted.



In addition, we have set up a site where you can search for local consultation counters.



All of them can be searched by "Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Trouble Consultation".



In some cases, the number of consultations has increased rapidly and we cannot respond immediately, but the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is calling for "if you cannot connect, please look for other contact points to find a consultation."