This is a chapter I published on August 13, 2010, under the title “Those Who Do Not Understand.”
This article, too, had disappeared from search results after being subjected to the criminal act of search interference by a man whom readers know well.
I am republishing it after correcting its paragraph breaks and other formatting.
On last night’s News Station, Furutachi said something astonishingly carefree. Japan has overcome the collapse of the bubble, he said, and its finances are secure.
Furutachi, even the yen’s present rise could become the final blow that causes Japan to decline in earnest and makes recovery impossible.
And I suppose you will never understand that these have been twenty years in which mistakes in responding, together with the chorus of righteous indignation that you and your colleagues brought about, caused losses amounting to some 900 trillion yen.
How nice for you to earn hundreds of millions of yen a year for that.
You really do have a comfortable position.
The frightening, incorrigible power of television lies in the way that what passes for your opinions and your manner can become a major force in shaping public opinion.
Behind this morning’s Asahi feature offering a complacent discussion of the market—behind the fortunate prominent people who speak with confidence for which they have no grounds—lies the reality of Japan today: more than 30,000 people die by suicide each year… 82 each day, or 3.4 each hour.
Its suicide rate is by far the highest among developed countries.
It is also extremely high compared with other countries: fourth in the world and twice the rate in the United States (2002).
Unless otherwise stated, what follows concerns suicide in Japan.
From 1998 through the present year, 2010, the suicide rate has been in the midst of its third and largest peak since the war, with the number of deaths by suicide 20 to 50 percent higher than before the peak.
Various statistics and notes left by those who died suggest that the present peak was caused by the recession. Since middle-aged and older men are particularly vulnerable to its effects, their suicide rate has risen especially sharply since the peak began. (The suicide rate among women, by contrast, has changed little from before the peak.)
As for motives, in 2009, notes and other evidence made it possible to identify a motive in 74.4 percent of cases. The most common reasons were “health problems” (15,867 people) and “economic and livelihood problems” (8,377 people), with up to three reasons counted for each person.
There is a marked difference between the sexes: more than 70 percent of those who die by suicide are men.
Employment-related problems, including unemployment, are cited as a major reason men are more likely to die by suicide, showing the excessive burden placed on men in their role as workers.
It has also been pointed out that men are more likely to become isolated after losing a job or going through a divorce, and that they find it harder than women to consult others about their problems.
Suicide rates also vary by occupation and region. Among men, rates are high for workers in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and for service workers. By industry, rates in the “primary sector” are high for both men and women.
The suicide rate among people receiving public assistance is also higher than the overall rate.
Viewed by region, the difference is 1.6 to 1.7 times in some cases, particularly among men.
Rates are high in industrial areas, and the effects of unstable working conditions among subcontractors have been pointed out.
Rates are also high in the Tōhoku region and along the Sea of Japan coast. Suggested reasons include economic problems caused by the decline of local industries and health problems associated with an aging population.
Seasonal depression in winter, although often mentioned, has almost no effect.
As for method and place, death by hanging and death at home are common among both men and women. In 2003, 66.4 percent of men and 58.9 percent of women who died by suicide had died by hanging, while a total of 17,511 people, or 54.3 percent, had died at home.
Regarding countermeasures, the Basic Act on Suicide Prevention came into force in 2006. Most efforts, however, have been left to the independent activities of nonprofit organizations or volunteers, and many suicide counseling centers face serious shortages of staff and funding.
The foregoing is from Wikipedia.