The General Principles of Suicide Countermeasures Policy (Cabinet decision, October 2022) (Summary)〇 Basic Act on Suicide Countermeasures came into effect in 2006.
〇 Promoting suicide countermeasures based on "The General Principles Suicide Countermeasures
Policy" under the above act.
1. BASIC PHILOSOPHY OF COMPREHENSIVE SUICIDE COUNTERMEASURES
Aiming to realize a society in which no one is driven to suicide✓Suicide countermeasures decrease the risk of suicide in society as a whole by reducing"disincentives to live" and increasing "incentives to live" in society.
Disincentives: Overwork, deprivation, fatigue from childcare and nursing care, bullying andisolation, etc.
Incentives: Self-esteem, trustworthy relationships, ability to avoid crisis, etc.

2. THE CURRENT STATE OF SUICIDE AND THE BASIC UNDERSTANDING OFCOMPREHENSIVE SUICIDE COUNTERMEASURES✓Most suicides are deaths which people have been driven to✓The annual number of suicides is on the decline, but a state of emergency still persists✓Promotion of countermeasures tailored to the impact of the spread of COVID-19✓Promoting practical measures at the local level through the PDCA cycle

3. BASIC POLICIES FOR COMPREHENSIVE SUICIDE COUNTERMEASURES
1.Promoting them as comprehensive support for living
2.Working on them comprehensively, strengthening organic coordination with related measures
3.Effectively linking measures at each level according to the stage of response to a suicidal case
4.Promoting both practical initiatives and awareness-raising
5.Clarifying the roles of the national government, local public entities, related organizations,private entities, businesses, and people in Japan, and promoting cooperation andcollaboration among them
6.Considering the honor of people who died by suicide and peace of life of bereaved people

Current: Cabinet decision on October 14, 2022
3rd: Cabinet decision on July 25, 2017
2nd: Cabinet decision on August 28, 2012
1st: Cabinet decision on June 8, 2007

4. IMMEDIATE PRIORITY POLICIES IN COMPREHENSIVE SUICIDECOUNTERMEASURES
1.Strengthening support for practical initiatives at a local level
2.Encouraging everyone to be aware of and watch over potential suicide risks of others
3.Promoting research and studies that will contribute to the promotion of comprehensive
suicide countermeasures
4.Securing, training and improving the quality of human resources engaged in suicidecountermeasures
5.Promoting development of mental health and a supportive environment for it
6.Ensuring that appropriate mental health and medical welfare services are available
7.Reducing the risk of suicide in society as a whole
8.Preventing suicide attempt survivors from re-attempting
9.Improving support for bereaved people
10.Strengthening cooperation with private entities
11.Further promoting suicide countermeasures for children and youth
12.Further promoting suicide countermeasures due to work-related problems
13.Further promoting suicide countermeasures for women

5. NUMERICAL TARGETS FOR SUICIDE COUNTERMEASURES✓ In order to realize a society where no one is driven to suicide, the suicide death rate
(number of suicides per 100,000 population) shall be reduced by at least 30% by 2026
compared to 2015, aiming to reduce it to the current level of the other developed countries forthe time being. (2015: 18.5 ⇒ 2026: 13.0 or less) *2020: 16.4 per 100,000

6. PROMOTION SYSTEMS, ETC.
1.Promotion systems at the national level
2.Promoting systematic suicide countermeasures in local areas
3.Policy evaluation and management
4.Review of the General Principles of Suicide Countermeasures Policy

The General Principles of Suicide Countermeasures Policy:
4. IMMEDIATE PRIORITY POLICIES IN COMPREHENSIVE SUICIDE COUNTERMEASURES
1. Strengthening support forpractical initiatives at a locallevel

2. Encouraging everyone to be aware ofand watch over potential suicide risksof others

3. Promoting research and studies that willcontribute to the promotion ofcomprehensive suicide countermeasures

4. Securing, training and improving thequality of human resources engaged insuicide countermeasures◼ Creating profiles of local suicide
status and policy packages for local
suicide countermeasures◼ Supporting local governments toformulate and to review local suicidecountermeasure plans◼ Supporting local suicidecountermeasures promotion centers◼ Conducting awareness campaign of Suicide
Prevention Week and Suicide
Countermeasures Strengthening Month◼ Implementing education that contributes tosuicide countermeasures for students◼ Surveys, research, and verification on the actual
suicide situations and the implementation of suicidecountermeasures, and utilization of the outcomes onthem.

◼ Promoting education on suicide countermeasures incoordination with universities/colleges andspecialized training colleges◼ Training of human resources in charge of
coordinating suicide countermeasures◼ Improving the qualifications of family doctors,
community health staff and occupational health staff◼ Awareness-raising for school teachers and staff◼ Training for nursing care support specialists, etc.
◼ Training people as gatekeepers••

Supporting the establishment of thedirector of local suicidecountermeasures promotion centers
Supporting for holding meetings for all
the directors of local support centers
across the country◼ Promoting the establishment ofdedicated department andassignment of staff for suicidecountermeasures•Promoting education on the importance and thepreciousness of life, how to seek help, andmaintenance of mental health of children andyouth, including correct understanding andappropriate response••

Spreading the recognition that many suicides
are deaths to which people have been driven
and that suicide countermeasures arecomprehensive support for living
Raising and promoting awareness of accurate
knowledge of mental health

6. Ensuring that appropriate mental
health and medical welfare services
are available◼ Promoting mental health measures in theworkplace◼ Improving the linkage of psychiatric care,health care, welfare, etc. and assigning
specialists◼ Training human resources responsible formental health and medical welfare services

Promoting measures against power
harassment and implementing online
counseling◼ Establishing systems to promote mental
health promotion in local areas◼ Establishing systems to promote mental
health promotion at school◼ Promoting mental care and life
reconstruction for victims of large-scaledisasters••••

Conducting more detailed investigations and analysis
for cases of suicide, etc.
Promoting the Child Death Review for Prevention
Understanding of the actual conditions with direct
assistance for young people, women and sexual
minorities in regard to the difficulties in their lives◼ Surveys on suicide and related matters during theCOVID-19 pandemic◼ Research leading to elucidation of the pathology ofpsychiatric diseases, such as depression

Improving systems to detect at an early stage
those at high risk for suicide and to ensure thatthey are referred to psychiatric care

◼ Developing systems to provide mental healthand medical welfare services for children•Considering the utilization of information collected bycounseling facilities◼ Surveys on suicide among children, youth and women,
and utilizing the system to investigate cause of death◼ Disseminating accurate information aboutsuicide and related matters and promoting
public awareness about depression, etc.

5. Promoting development of mental
health and a supportive
environment for it••

Improvements to the mental care system forchildren◼ Promoting measures for high-risk individuals
with depression and other mental illness suchas addiction•

Gatekeeper training including young people◼ Mental care for those engaged in suicidecountermeasures•

Supporting assignment of specialists who play therole of supervisors◼ Supporting supporters including family, friends,
gatekeepers, etc.

7. Reducing the risk of suicide in society as a whole◼ Improving of counseling systems, transmitting understandable information such as consultation services,and reinforcing outreach◼ Utilizing ICT (internet and social media, etc.)•Expanding support for consultation services by utilizing social media and disseminating information using ICT◼ Strengthening measures against slanders and suicide-related information on the internet••

Promoting necessary suicide prevention measures related to inducements and solicitations for suicide and cyberpatrol efforts
Supporting for prompt deletion of slander postings toward specific individuals and implementing human rights
consultations◼ Supporting hikikomori, victims of child abuse, sexual crimes and sexual violence, those in poverty,
and single-parent families◼ Improving support for sexual minorities◼ Sharing information necessary for coordination among related organizations, etc.
◼ Promoting the provision of spaces of belonging that contribute to suicide countermeasures•Promoting the creation of places, including online initiatives, to prevent social isolation◼ Disseminating the WHO guidelines, etc. to media professionals◼ Promoting international cooperation on suicide countermeasures

The General Principles of Suicide Countermeasures Policy:
4. IMMEDIATE PRIORITY POLICIES IN COMPREHENSIVE SUICIDE COUNTERMEASURES
8. Preventing suicide attempt survivors from re-attempting

9. Improving support for bereaved people

10. Strengthening cooperation with private entities◼ Establishing local medical facilities that serve as bases forsupporting suicide attempt survivors◼ Upgrading the medical care system provided by psychiatrists atemergency medical facilities◼ Strengthening comprehensive support for suicide attempt survivors
by promoting coordination between medical care and the community◼ Supporting the operations of self-help groups for bereavedpeople◼ Encouraging postvention at schools and workplaces◼ Supporting human resource development at private entities◼ Establishing a local coordination system◼ Supporting counseling services by private entities••

Improving a medical care coordination system for suicide attempt
survivors to transition smoothly to psychiatric treatment after discharge
from hospital
Promoting efforts to analyze the actual conditions obtained from suicide
attempt survivors and create an anonymous database◼ Providing support through interconnectedness with measures tocreate spaces of belonging◼ Supporting close supporters such as family members••◼ Promoting the provision of information relating to thecomprehensive support needs of bereaved people••

Encouraging the appropriate postvention for the bereavedpeople at schools, workplaces and public agencies

Expanding support for the counseling service by utilizing social
media, etc., to respond to a diverse needs◼ Supporting pioneering and experimental approaches by private
entities and their efforts in suicide hotspots

Promoting support for bereaved people with administrative
formalities and legal issues◼ Improving the quality of personnel at public agencies whodeal with bereaved people◼ Supporting bereaved children•

Enhancing support for bereaved children who have become ayoung carer

Creating videos and other materials for learning listening skills andraising awareness of listening skills◼ Encouraging postvention at school and workplaces

11. Further promoting suicide countermeasures for children and youth◼ Preventing child suicide due to bullying◼ Improving support for students••••

Promoting suicide prevention before and after a long vacation
Promoting identification of suicide risk using tablets and dissemination of information on push-type support
Establishing a system which enables school and local supporters to work together to prevent child suicideand teachers and other staff members to quickly consult with experts about emergency responses
Securing space of belonging for children who don’t attend school to stay inside and outside school

12. Further promoting suicidecountermeasures due to workrelated problems◼ Rectifying the practice of long working hours•••◼ Promoting school-based help-seeking programs••

Promoting education on the importance and the preciousness of life, how to seek help, and maintenance ofmental health of children and youth, including correct understanding and appropriate response
Organizing an environment where children can easily seek help, as well as the adults around themrecognize the signs a child has sent

◼ Improving support for children and young people and tailoring support to their characteristics•

Expanding counseling service support by utilizing social media and disseminating information using ICT◼ Supporting friends and acquaintances•

Creating systems to maintain mental health for those engaged in suicide countermeasures, including
gatekeepers◼ Establishing a system to promote suicide countermeasures for children and youth•

Working with the Children and Families Agency to consider the improvement of the system••

Promoting thorough management of working
hours and correction of long working hours
Promoting the introduction of an inter-workinterval system
Promoting mental health measures in theworkplace, including remote work, which has
progressed during the COVID-19 pandemic
Promoting measures to prevent deaths, etc. fromoverwork based on the Outline for Measures toPrevent Death and Injury from Overwork
Providing support for side and concurrent
business◼ Promoting mental health measures in theworkplace◼ Measures to prevent harassment•Preventing power harassment, sexual
harassment and harassment related to pregnancy
or childbirth

13. Further promoting suicidecountermeasures for women◼ Improving support for expectant and nursing
mothers•

Providing support for young pregnant womenwith physical mental concerns or anxieties due
to unexpected pregnancies through the Sexuality
and Health Consultation Center Project, etc.

◼ Supporting women in light of challenges thathave emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic•••

Providing detailed employment support for
women raising children
Further enhancing support for victims of spousal
violence, including the development of acounselling system
Supporting initiatives by local public entities toprovide detailed counseling and support for
women with various difficulties and challenges◼ Supporting women facing difficult problems