The number of suicides due to the coronavirus pandemic is believed to be about 3,200 so far, and another 2,000 additional suicides will occur in the next 3-1/2 years, experts have estimated.
A group of experts focused on the correlation between the rising unemployment rate and the increase in the number of suicides to determine the figures, said Taisuke Nakata, an associate professor of economics at the University of Tokyo.
The numbers are based on the estimates of the unemployment rate that were released by several research institutes before the start of the pandemic.
The group calculated the number of suicides that would have occurred in case the pandemic did not occur, and subtracted it from the actual number of suicides.
The team estimated that, as a result of the pandemic, the number of suicides increased by 3,236 from March 2020 through May, and that the figure is expected to rise by 2,095 from June this year to the end of 2024.
The uptick can be attributed to a weakening of human ties and the suicides of a popular actor and actress amid the pandemic, the experts believe.
The number of suicides nationwide between January and June this year was 10,784, up 1,206, or 13%, from the same period last year, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and other organizations.
About 15,000 people in Japan have died due to the coronavirus.
"As the vaccination campaign progresses, balancing infection control with economic and social life will become more important," Nakata said. "I would like [the government] to discuss policy [on measures against the coronavirus] by referencing various indicators rather than focusing on only the number of newly infected people."
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