The combined cost of suicides and depression cases to the economy totaled ¥2.68 trillion in 2009 due to lost incomes from the deaths and social security payments necessitated by the mood disorder, the government said Tuesday.
Health minister Akira Nagatsuma released the figures at a meeting of Cabinet ministers pursuing measures to deal with suicides and depression, Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry officials said.
The estimated economic loss, released for the first time, was compiled by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.