Suicides in Japan Fall below 20,000 for 1st Time in 2025

Tokyo, Jan. 29 (Jiji Press)--The number of people who died by suicide in Japan in 2025 came to 19,097, standing below 20,000 for the first time since the statistics began in 1978, preliminary government data showed Thursday.

Suicides among elementary, junior high and senior high school students came to 532, hitting a record high for the second straight year since comparable data became available in 1980.

The overall number of suicides fell by 1,223 from the previous year's final count, according to the health ministry data based on National Police Agency statistics.

Suicides totaled 13,117 among men and 5,980 among women. The suicide rate, measured by the number of suicides per population of 100,000, came to 15.4. Final figures will be released in March.

"The number of suicides by middle-aged and elderly men is decreasing, and the number of cases triggered by poor business performance and debts is also decreasing," a health ministry official said, adding that economic trends may have had an impact on suicide cases.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]