About half the total suicides were people suffering from health problems, the NPA said. Suicides attributed to Japan's prolonged economic slowdown rose by 11.6 percent in 1999, to 6,758, the agency said. Last year, Japan's unemployment rate reached an all-time high of 4.9 percent.
Japan has one of the world's highest suicide rates.
Every year, 36.5 of every 100,000 men and 14.7 of every 100,000 women commit suicide. That compares with 19.9 men and 4.6 women in the United States and 11.7 men and 3.2 women in England, according to the Health Ministry. Also Friday, the ministry said average life spans in Japan in 1999 were 77.1 years for men and 83.99 years for women. That was down slightly from the 1998 figures of 77.16 years for men and 84.01 years for women, but still the highest in the world. Ths website is designed and maintained in cooperation with HelpForMyWebsite.