Citation

Harada N, Koda M, Nomura S. JAMA Netw. Open 2023; 6(12): e2347543.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.47543

PMID

38095901

Abstract

Annually, over 700 000 suicides occur globally, with many being preventable.1 In Japan, the National Police Agency gathers and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare publishes suicide data. In January 2022, these agencies updated their categorization, adding 23 new subcategories and modifying some existing ones.2 Among 7 major categories, man-woman relationships changed to interpersonal relationships, and the others (family, health, economy, work, school, and other) remained the same. Previously, up to 3 reasons were recorded for a suicide based on documents such as suicide notes. As of 2022, up to 4 reasons can be noted, including testimony of family members or others. The agencies note that comparing old and new data is not straightforward. This research examines the implications of these updates on suicide data accuracy and details.

Language: en