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Almost half of young people in Japan have had suicidal thoughts, survey finds
by
May 4, 2023
Almost half of young people in Japan have had suicidal thoughts, according to a survey by the Nippon Foundation, with a majority of those respondents saying they did not speak with anyone about their feelings.
The report based on the survey, which sought responses from 501,018 people between the ages of 18 and 29 in November and received valid responses from 14,819, was released last month and found that 56.6% of those who had suicidal thoughts did not speak to anyone about it, while 12.4% of people said they opened up to friends and 11.7% to their mothers. More than half of the respondents were unaware of organizations or support groups that help those with suicidal thoughts.
Overall, the report showed that 44.8% of respondents had experienced suicidal ideation, citing difficulties in their relationships with others, bullying and anxiety over their future employment or educational prospects. Among those who had suicidal thoughts, 40.8% said they had prepared to take their own life or attempted it.
The number of respondents to the questions on suicidal ideation was 14,555.
Of those who identified as LGBTQ, 59.4% experienced suicidal ideation. For transgender and nonbinary people specifically, who made up 10% of respondents, 52.4% experienced suicidal ideation. The figure was 41.3% for people who identified as cisgender — those whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
People who have experienced sexual abuse were more likely to have reported suicidal thoughts, with the figure reaching 76.4%, compared with 39.3% for those who had not experienced sexual abuse. The survey found that 15.3% of respondents had experienced sexual abuse.
According to health ministry data, suicide was the leading cause of death for young people from 2019 to 2021.