Suicides in Japan reach 22,000 in 8 months through August+

TOKYO, Sept. 28 Kyodo -
The number of people who committed suicide in Japan from January through August
came to 22,362, an increase of 971 or 4.5 percent from a year earlier, a
National Police Agency report showed Monday.

If the current pace continues the annual figure could match the record of
34,427 marked in 2003. Of the total during the eight-month period, 16,008 were
men and 6,354 women, according to the preliminary survey.
The figures, which are thought to reflect worsening economic conditions since
last fall, also marked year-on-year increases every month since January. In
August alone, 2,497 people killed themselves, up 66 from a year earlier.
The new government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has vowed to try to deal
with the rise in suicides. Civil organizations have called on the government to
tackle the issues of unemployment, heavy debts and mental health altogether,
not one by one, in order to stem the number of suicides.
==Kyodo