Without a doubt the grimmest statistic coming out of Japan today concerns the number of suicides, which have exceeded 30,000 annually for 11 years in a row — engendering indescribable tragedies for so many families.

But with this having spun into an issue in last month's Lower House elections — even Yukio Hatoyama, who is now prime minister, mentioned it in his speeches — it's clear the Japanese people have begun to take that awful statistic to heart and to treat suicide as a national problem.

So how should Japan deal with this? And would there be any lessons in a Japanese approach that might alleviate the problem worldwide?