今年10月、自殺者数が大幅増 Suicide in the Coronavirus Crisis

This is my translation of a story that originally appeared in The Big Issue Japan Issue 397.

I translated it as a volunteer so that it could be published in other International Network of Street Papers publications.

The original Japanese is on the left, and my translation is on the right.

（タイトル） 今年10月、自殺者数が大幅増。 コロナ禍による女性・若者へのしわ寄せも……？	(Title) This October, the number of suicides increased significantly. How has the burden placed on women and young people by the coronavirus crisis affected this increase?
（リード） 今年10月の自殺者数が大きく増えたことに衝撃が走った。とくに女性の増加率が顕著だという。背景には、コロナによる生活不安、有名人の自殺報道との関連も考えられる。ＮＰＯ法人「自殺対策支援センター ライフリンク」の代表・清水康之さんに話を聞いた。	(Lead) The large increase in suicides this October sent shock waves throughout Japan and the world. Particularly striking was the increased rate of women committing suicide. Possible context for these are worries about one's life due to the coronavirus and news of celebrity suicides. We spoke with Shimizu Yasuyuki, the head of the nonprofit "Suicide Prevention Support Center - Life Link."
（本文） 自殺者数、４～６月は減少 ７月半ばから一気に増加	(Main) Suicides decreased in April through June but sharply increased in the middle of July
警察庁によると、今年10月の自殺者数は全国で２１５８人（10月末暫定値）。過去５年間で最も多い人数となった。この10年間は、対策の広がりなどもあって自殺者数は減少傾向だったが、今年7月以降は増加が続く。	According to the National Police Agency, the number of suicides in Japan for the month of October was 2,158 (provisional figure). It was the highest number of people in the past five years. In the past ten years, due to the spread of prevention efforts and other factors, suicides were on a downward trend, but an increase has been continuing since July.
10月は前年同時期に比べて６１９人増加。全体では依然として男性のほうが多いものの、男性は前年より21・７％増の１３０６人となったのに対して、女性は82・８％増の８５２人となっており、女性の増加率が際立つ。	Compared with October of last year, it's an increase of 619 people. Although more men overall commit suicide, and while there was an increase of 21.7% over last year to 1306 men, the increase of women was a staggering 82.8% at 852.
「まず今年４月から６月に限って見ると、例年よりぐんと自殺者数が減りました。タレントの志村けんさんが新型コロナウイルスで亡くなったり、緊急事態宣言が発出されたりと、コロナへの危機感が非常に高まっていた時期と重なります」と清水康之さんは話す。災害などの社会的危機が起きると、本能的な死への恐怖や社会的連帯感の高まりなどによって自殺者数が減少する。これは過去にも国内外で見られている現象だという。	"If we first only look at April to June, as compared to an ordinary year the number of suicides noticeably fell. This was happening at the same time as the TV personality Shimura Ken had passed away due to the coronavirus, the declaration of the state of emergency, and when the sense of danger concerning the coronavirus was becoming extremely heightened," Shimizu Yasuyuki says. When social crises like natural disasters happen, the instinctive fear of death and greater feeling of social solidarity contributes to a decrease in suicides. This phenomenon has been seen in the past both inside and outside Japan.
「相談窓口に寄せられた声には、『コロナの状況でみんなが大変な思いをしているのを見て、生きるのがつらいのは自分だけではないと少しホッとした』といった内容もありました。この時期は、自殺を考えていた人たちも思い留まり、減少につながったのではないでしょうか」	"Some people who called our consultation service said, 'I saw that everyone was having a hard time due to the coronavirus situation, and I was relieved that it wasn't just me who was struggling to live.' At that time, people who had thought of suicide stopped, and that may have led to the reduction."
しかし、その流れが大きく変わるのが７月半ばだ。俳優・三浦春馬さんの自殺報道があった日を境に、自殺者数が一気に増加した。自殺者数のデータだけでは原因を特定できないが、10月の大幅増も、増加が上旬から中旬に集中していることから、９月末の俳優・竹内結子さんの自殺報道が影響している可能性が高いという。	However, that trend changed significantly in mid-July. If we set the turning point as the day that reports of actor Miura Haruma's suicide came out, suicides sharply increase afterwards. The cause cannot be pinpointed just by looking at suicide victim numbers. However, for the large increase seen in October, since the increase is concentrated in the beginning and middle of the month, it's very likely that news of actor Takeuchi Yuko's suicide at the end of September had an effect.
「もともと不安を抱えていた人、自殺念慮を持っていた人が、有名人の自殺を自分と重ね合わせてしまい、行動の引き金になってしまうことがあるのです。ただ、８月以降も自殺者数は減っていないため、自殺報道だけが原因とは限りません。やはり下地にコロナによる影響があると思います」	"For those who have anxiety in the first place, or have suicidal ideations, they tend to identify with the celebrity's suicide and it triggers action. However, since suicides after August didn't decrease, the cause is not just reports of suicides. I think that underneath the surface the coronavirus is having an effect as expected."
７月以降あらゆる年代で女性増 ８月には女子高生の自殺	An increase in women of all ages after July Suicides of high school girls in August
さらに、7月以降、あらゆる年代で女性の自殺が増加しているのも特徴だ。	Furthermore, after July, another dimension is that suicides of women of all ages increased.
「警察のデータによれば、顕著に増えているのが、『無職』や『同居人がいる』女性の自殺です。いま女性の50％以上が非正規雇用という状況ですので、コロナの影響による失業や収入減で生活が不安定になった方も少なくない。アンケートや相談から推測すると、ほかにも外出できないことによるＤＶの深刻化、あるいは育児や介護に関して周りに助けを求めづらい状況になっているなど、女性が悩みや課題を抱えやすい状況があり、その延長線上で自殺が増えていると、とらえるべきだと思います」	"According to police data, the most striking increases in suicide were in unemployed women and women living with roommates. At the moment, more than 50% of women are irregularly employed, and due to the effects of the coronavirus many have fallen into insecurity after becoming unemployed or having a decrease in income. If we make guesses based on surveys and consultations, in addition to this, women are in difficult circumstances in which troubles and problems tend to pile on. This includes experiencing an increase in the severity of domestic violence due to not being able to go outside or not being able to ask for help with childcare or caregiving. Consequently, this leads to an increase in suicides and is something that should be recognized."
また、８月には女子高生の自殺が増えており、若い人の自殺も増加傾向にある。	Additionally, suicides of high school girls increased in August, and suicides of young people are on an upward trend.
「コロナで学校が長期休みになり、再開したけれどなじめない」「親がずっと家にいて、ストレスのはけ口にされている」といったＳＮＳに寄せられる相談からも、コロナで生まれた社会のひずみが、女性や子どもなど弱い立場に置かれやすい人たちに向けられていることが感じられる。	Societal stressors arising from the coronavirus can be seen in calls for help on social media like "School was off for a long while because of the coronavirus, but even after school started again I can't get used to it" or "My parents are always at home, and are venting to me about their stress." It seems that these stressors are being aimed at women, children, and other people who can easily fall into a vulnerable position.
「自殺は、平均して４つの要因が連鎖して起きることがわかっています。たとえば、もともと精神的な不安を抱えていたところに、コロナによって仕事を失った、家族関係が悪化した、などの要因が増えることで、一気に自殺リスクが高まってしまうのです」	"We know that on average four contributing factors link to cause a suicide. For example, for someone who already has emotional uneasiness, if due to the coronavirus they lose their job, their home life gets worse, or other contributing factors increase, their risk of suicide goes up dramatically."
ライフリンクでは、他団体と協力してＳＮＳを使った相談体制を整えてきたが、相談件数は増加する一方で、相談員を増やしても対応しきれない状態が続いている。	At Life Link, they were able to set up a consultation service over social media by collaborating with other organizations. On the one hand, there was a growth in the number of consultations, but on the other, even after they added more consulting staff they still can't meet demand.
「１日80人近くから相談を受けていますが、実際には６倍くらいの相談者がいて、つながりにくい状況です。早急に、受け皿を広げる対策を検討しています」	"We are taking about 80 consultations a day, but there are actually about 6 times more people asking for help, and it's still hard to connect with them. We are urgently looking into measures to expand our consulting base."
コロナにしても、自殺報道にしても、情報を知れば知るほど不安が募ってしまうことがある。とくに今はスマホやＳＮＳから望まない情報まで飛び込んでくる時代だ。清水さんは「自分が触れると動揺するような情報から、適度に距離を置くことも大事」とアドバイスする。「早めに誰かに相談することも大切です。身近に話せる人がいない時は、相談窓口を利用してください」	Whether it's about the coronavirus, or reports of suicides, the more information we know, the stronger our anxiety about them becomes. Now especially, we are in an age where we dive headfirst into news we don't want to see from our smartphones and social media. Mr. Shimizu advises, "It's important to keep a reasonable distance from news that would disturb you if you came in contact with it. It's also important to ask for help early. If you have no one around you to talk with, please use a consultation service."
（中村未絵）	(Okamura Mie)
（プロフィール） しみず・やすゆき 1972年、東京生まれ。元ＮＨＫ報道ディレクター。自死遺児を取り上げた番組の取材を機にNHKを退職し、2004年にNPO法人「自殺対策支援センターライフリンク」を設立。10万人署名運動などを通して、06年の「自殺対策基本法」成立に大きく貢献した。元内閣参与。自殺対策全国民間ネットワーク代表。厚労大臣指定法人「いのち支える自殺対策推進センター」代表理事。	(Profile) Shimizu Yasuyuki Born in 1972 in Tokyo. Former NHK news director. After he did a program covering orphaned children whose parents had committed suicide, he quit NHK and in 2004 founded the nonprofit "Suicide Prevention Support Center - Life Link." In 2006, through a campaign that collected 1 million signatures and other actions, he had a large contribution to the establishment of the Basic Act on Suicide Prevention. Former Cabinet Advisor. Leader of the NGO National Suicide Prevention Network. Representative of the Board of Directors of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare Designated Corporation "Japan Suicide Countermeasures Promotion Center."