Suicides nationwide topped 30,000 last year for the 14th consecutive year, but by prefecture Yamanashi has had the worst rate for the past five years, according to statistics by the National Police Agency.
Yamanashi had 36.1 suicides per 100,000 people in 2011, compared with 23.7 for Tokyo and 21.7 for Osaka, the agency figures show.
The dubious distinction may be in part because of the Aokigahara Jukai (Sea of Trees) forest area that stretches northwest of Mount Fuji, which straddles Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures.