Suicide occurs everywhere; however, “Japan’s suicide rate is the sixth highest suicide rate in the world and the second worst among eight major industrialized nations.” According to the The Japan Time News, suicide in Japan is not considered a sin like it is in Christian countries, but is seen as a way of taking responsibility and asking for forgiveness.

“Particular conceptions of mental illness in Japan might be brought about by a lack of education of mental illness,” states Understanding Mental Health. It’s very important that people become educated about this because that way people would want to reach help more and it’d reduce the suicide rates.

Radford High School Teen Care counselor Maria Trimble said, “A person may feel like this [suicide] is their last option due to stress and pressure. You can tell through signs that a person may be in deep thought about this decision.”

“The United States has about the same number of suicides as Japan annually, but Japan has a total population of 126 million compared to the United States’ 275 million,” states Jan Chorlton, a writer from ABC News.

People commit suicide for different reasons. According to the wasabi website, Japanese are under heavy pressure to perform well in school, they’re isolated from others, or they’re practicing Seppuku, which is the practice of suicide for Samurais.

On the Humanium website, in 2017, Japan had an average of 70 suicides daily, including children. Main reasons for child suicide are school-related issues such as the push on school-work and exams or bullying. In fact, Japanese children are more likely to kill themselves on Sept. 1 than on any other day of the year because that is the time when school starts.To reduce suicide for children, they are no longer required to attend school by law, like in the U.S. They now have the choice to not attend school or to take a break from going to school.

As for adults, more men than women are likely to commit suicide and it mostly has to do with financial pressure and its struggles. Wasabi website states, “Japan still widely employs traditional patriarchal family system and men are often expected to make money for the family while women do housework and raise kids. When they are not making enough money to support the whole family, they feel hopeless and can’t stand the burden on their shoulders, which leads to the action of committing suicide.”

Japan still widely employs traditional patriarchal family system and men are often expected to make money for the family while women do housework and raise kids. When they are not making enough money to support the whole family, they feel hopeless and can’t stand the burden on their shoulders, which leads to the action of committing suicide.