Pandemic raises Japan suicide rate after decade of decline

The number of people taking their own lives in Japan rose for the first time in over a decade last year, as the pandemic reversed years of progress combating a stubbornly high suicide rate.

The health ministry said Friday that 20,919 people died by suicide in 2020 according to preliminary data, up 3.7% from the previous year. That compares with 3,460 deaths from coronavirus in the same period.