TOKYO -- Amid a stubborn recession and rising layoffs, more Japanese killed themselves in 1998 than in any other year on record.
The number of middle-aged people taking their lives surged, as a wave of corporate restructuring forced employees on once secure career tracks suddenly out of jobs.The number of suicides in 1998 hit 32,863, a 34.7 percent increase over the previous year and the highest since the government started tracking it in 1947, the National Policy Agency said Friday.
Japan also recorded its highest suicide rate: 26.0 suicides per 100,000 population, just below the country with the world's steepest rate -- Finland with 27.0 suicides per 100,000 people.
The spread of suicide comes at a time of growing unease in Japanese society in general. Crime, divorce and dissatisfaction with public systems such as education are all on the rise.
The startling numbers were top news in Japan, despite a deeply ingrained tradition that has long regarded suicide as an honorable way to atone for failure.
Even before the announcement Friday, the spread of suicides linked to overwork or painful corporate restructuring because of the recession had been causing mounting concern. The Health and Welfare Ministry made a similar report earlier this year, with somewhat smaller numbers.
Of all suicides in 1998, those committed clearly because of economic difficulties accounted for 6,058, an increase of 70.4 percent. Illness was believed to be the reason for 11,499 suicides, up 26.9 percent.