自殺防止策

(Jun. 22, 2008) The Yomiuri Shimbun

To cut suicides, study why people kill selves

自殺３万人　詳細データを施策に生かせ（6月22日付・読売社説）

The tendency for people to choose to take their own lives shows no sign of abating.

自ら死を選ぶ人が絶えない。１０年連続の３万人突破である。

According to statistics released by the National Police Agency, 33,093 people committed suicide last year, marking the 10th consecutive year that the number exceeded 30,000. It is the second-largest such figure since the NPA began tabulating data on suicides 30 years ago, after the 34,427 recorded in 2003.

警察庁のまとめによると、昨年１年間に自殺した人は３万３０９３人に上った。２００３年の３万４４２７人に次いで、統計を取り始めたこの３０年間で２番目に多い。

(tabulate=一覧表にする)

Last year's suicide rate--the number of those who kill themselves per 100,000 of the population--was 25.9, an increase of 0.7 from 2006.

人口１０万人当たりの自殺者数を示す自殺率は２５・９で、これも前年より０・７増加した。

A correlation has long been evident between suicide and unemployment rates. But last year, the suicide rate increased though the unemployment rate dipped below the 4 percent mark for the first time in 10 years, to 3.9 percent.

自殺率と失業率は相関的な動きを見せてきた。しかし、昨年の失業率は３・９％と１０年ぶりに３％台に低下したにもかかわらず、自殺率は改善しない。

Notable in last year's suicide statistics was an increase in suicides among people in their 30s and 40s, which accounted for 30 percent of the total number. Why are those who are supposed to be working as core members of society throwing their lives away?

自殺者を世代別でみると、３０～４０歳代で前年より増えたのが特徴だ。この世代で全体の３割を占める。社会の中核となって働かなければいけない人たちが、なぜ人生をなげうつのか。

Central, local govts must act

（国と地方自治体の責務）

Some studies have found that many people feel their workplace burdens have increased and are less satisfied with their bosses' evaluations of their work than before. We wonder if the working environment is getting more severe for many.

仕事の負担感が増し、成績評価に対する満足感が下がっているという調査もある。職場環境が厳しくなっているのだろうか。

The government had the basic law on suicide prevention enforced in 2006 to "implement measures that society must tackle because various social factors are behind suicides."

政府は一昨年、自殺対策基本法を制定した。「自殺の背景には様々な社会的要因があることを踏まえ、社会的な取り組みとして対策を実施する」ためだ。

The law's enforcement prompted the government to set outlines for comprehensive measures to prevent suicide as well as a target of reducing the suicide rate by more than 20 percent by 2016.

これを受けて昨年６月には自殺総合対策大綱を定め、２０１６年までに自殺率を２０％以上減少させるという政府目標も掲げた。

Japan's suicide rate is far higher than those of the United States and other developed nations in Europe.

日本の自殺率は欧米先進国と比べ突出している。

The basic law calls on the central and local governments and employers to act to prevent people from taking their own lives. First of all, all parties should cooperate in realizing the target of a 20 percent reduction in the suicide rate.

基本法は、国や自治体、事業主に、それぞれ防止策を講じるよう求めている。まずは２０％減少の目標達成に向け、協力して取り組んでほしい。

The outlines call for improving psychiatric care at clinics and hospitals, counseling services in communities for those in need and taking care of employees' mental health at the workplace, in addition to providing support for those burdened with multiple debts and people who have to provide nursing care for their family members. The need to provide psychological care for those with a history of suicide attempts is also stipulated in the outlines.

対策大綱は、精神科医療体制や地域の相談体制の充実、職場での心の健康づくり、多重債務者や介護者の支援、自殺未遂者の心理的ケアなどをあげている。深刻な事態の改善に向けて、個々の施策を着実に実施していきたい。

To rectify this serious situation, the central and local governments as well as employers must steadily implement necessary measures.

（この重大な危機に対して、国と地方自治体は企業の経営者たちとともに、自殺を防止するための必要な処置を努力を怠ってはならない）

この部分の日本語対応部分がないので日本語に翻訳しました。 (by srachai)

Suicide data more detailed

Since the beginning of this year, the number of people committing suicide with hydrogen sulfide has risen steeply. It is a pressing task to come up with effective measures to counter the spread on the Internet of information about how to commit suicide, which partly contributed to the spike in hydrogen sulfide suicides.

今年に入って硫化水素自殺が増えている。背景にあるインターネット対策も課題だ。

(spike=急増)

The NPA overhauled its method of publishing suicide statistics from this year. It now puts reasons why people committed suicide into 52 categories in comparison with the previous eight. "Work-related reasons" was broken into five, including "human relations at the workplace" and "failure at work." Statistics on the occupations of those who killed themselves were split into more than 50 categories, while the previous data classified them into only seven.

警察庁は今回から、発表方法を大幅に見直した。動機の分類も従来の８項目から５２項目にと細分化した。「勤務問題」は「職場の人間関係」や「仕事の失敗」など５項目に分けている。７分類だった職業別も、５０以上に分けた。

When police officers handle suicide cases, they are now allowed to select up to three motives for suicide so the NPA can examine complex suicidal factors. In the past, police officers were required to narrow down suicide reasons to one.

警察官が自殺を扱う場合も、複合的な要因を浮かび上がらせるため、一つに絞っていた動機を三つまで選べるようにした。

The NPA plans to provide data for each prefecture upon request. We hope such data will be utilized to determine what specific problems each prefecture has and for devising countermeasures for the problems.

警察庁は、要望があれば都道府県に個別のデータも提供するという。足元にどのような問題点があるか、独自の対策を立てるうえで役立ててもらいたい。

(devise=工夫する、発明する)

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 22, 2008)

（2008年6月22日01時37分  読売新聞）