A National Policy Agency (NPA) report of 1st June revealed that once again suicides in Japan surpassed 30,000 for the eighth year in a row in 2005, reaching a new total of 32,552, up from 32,325 in 2004. Men are the most at risk of suicide, comprising 23,540 of the total, or over 70%.

Sadly, in a country with such an advanced medical care service, health problems were seen as the most common reason for suicide, accounting for 15,014 deaths, up 1.5% from 2004. Perhaps even more shocking is the increase in suicide among people and students, including seven elementary school students.

The following table breaks down the figures as reported by NPA.