
Machiko Nakayama, director of the Tokyo Befrienders call centre, a Tokyo's suicide hotline centre, and a volunteer handle an incoming call at the centre during the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tokyo, Japan May 26, 2020.
According to preliminary police data, the total number of suicides for October was 2,153, an increase of more than 300 from the previous month and the highest monthly tally since May 2015.
Of October's cases, 851 were women, a rise of 82.6 per cent over the same month in 2019. The number of suicides by men rose 21.3 per cent.
Cases of suicide had been falling steadily until July but then the economic impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak hit home and the numbers started rising, activists say.















Comment: Again we are reminded of the horrible knock-on effects of unnecessary and economically devastating lockdowns - and the great toll these policies have taken on the lives of many millions of people.
See also: