Japan's soaring suicide rate
by Paul Peake
Australian Shooters Journal
September 1999
Many readers would be aware of the integral part played by the Japanese Government in the United Nation's push for prohibitive gun laws. The Japanese have been at the forefront of the UN's efforts since the early 1990s by providing funding and offering a number of draft resolutions on global gun control. The country's preoccupation with international firearms regulation is fuelled by a mixture of paranoia over local gun-related crime and a long history of repressive domestic arms control.
The recent economic downturn in many Asian markets has had a significant impact on societies throughout the region. One of the more sinister consequences appears to be a huge increase in the number of suicides in Japan. According to the country's National Policy Agency, in 1998 the total number of suicides rose by an incredible 34.7 per cent over the previous year with 32,860 Japanese taking their own lives. (1)
Table 1. Source:
National Policy Agency data.
The increase is important from the shooter's perspective because it raises serious questions about the effectiveness of harsh gun laws as a means of combating suicide. One of the main arguments put forward by the anti-gun lobby in favour of harsh gun control is the supposed connection between the availability of firearms and the number of people who take their own lives. Table 2 shows however, that despite a history of severe firearm regulation, Japan's suicide rate has been consistently higher than Australia's for more than 100 years. The only exception being a brief period during the 1960s when the two percentages were within a few points of each other. The fact that Japan experienced unprecedented fiscal growth throughout much of the decade may help explain the concurrence.
Table 2. Source Pinguet.
M. (1993). Voluntary Death in Japan. Cambridge Policy Press and Australian
Bureau of Statistics
There is strong evidence to suggest that the economic well-being of a community has a far greater impact on suicide than the availability or otherwise of firearms. Table 3 contains Australian Bureau of Statistics figures covering a 20-year period. The data indicates a possible relationship between the level of unemployment and the number of people who resort to suicide.
The Japanese have traditionally regarded suicide as an honourable means of atoning for failure or showing remorse. That point aside, the impetus behind the latest increase is undoubtedly economic. According to recent reports in the Japanese media, a significant percentage of those taking their own lives are middle-aged 'salary men' who have fared badly as a result of the country's economic woes. (2)
When considering the potential impact of economics and especially unemployment on suicide, it is worth noting that the largest increases in suicide in Australia during the past 15 years have been among teenagers and young adults aged between 15 and 24. This group also has some of the highest levels of unemployment with figures showing the rate may be upwards of 25 per cent in some parts of the country.
Table 3: Source:
Figures for unemployment rate 1975-93 adapted from ABS data published in
Langmore, J. and Quiggin, J. (1994). Work for all: Full Employment in
the Nineties. Carlton: Melbourne University Press. Suicide data ABS
(Cat. No. 3309.0)
The situation carries important lessons for policy makers in Australia. Obviously the availability of firearms has no bearing on why people kill themselves. Australian Bureau of Statistics and Australian Institute of Criminology figures clearly indicate that the forced confiscation of 640,000 firearms has had no tangible impact on Australia's overall suicide rate. While the number of firearm-related deaths has declined (a trend already evident prior to the 'buy-back' scheme) there has been a marked increase in suicides involving alternatives such as hanging, gassing and poisoning. Reinforcing the notion is the Japanese experience. Although private firearm ownership is practically unknown, the country's current suicide rate is almost double that of Australia.
Table 4. Source:
Figures adapted from a paper by Barry Malley, Senior Fellow,
Centre for Independent Studies, December 1994
The second important point is the link between suicide and the community's economic health. As Table 4 shows, a relationship between unemployment and suicide has been clear for some time. While the evidence is still inconclusive, the fact is the most disadvantaged section of the labour market in Australia, namely young people, also makes up a disproportionate percentage of suicide victims.
Suicide is a complex phenomenon for which there is no single answer. Nevertheless, a number of points stand out. Confiscating hundreds of thousands of firearms has clearly failed to reverse the trend. At the same time, whether or not people have meaningful work seems to have a substantial bearing on the problem. How many lives might have been saved had the government put the $500 million used to seize firearms into a realistic youth employment program? How many Australians will have to lose their lives before policy makers demonstrate the same enthusiasm for addressing the real issues as they have shown for persecuting shooters?
1. Coleman, J. (1999, July 3). Suicide surge in Japan. The Advertiser. p. 51.
2. (1999, July 22). Japan's woes result in suicides. The West Australian. p. 26.
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