As the employment situation worsens in the midst of the deepening economic crisis, it is feared that more people may commit suicide. In 2007, the latest year for which annual suicide statistics are available, 33,093 people killed themselves, making it the 10th consecutive year that suicides topped 30,000.
The first year of this grim streak, 1998, saw the number of suicides jump by some 8,400 from the previous year's figure of roughly 24,000. The number of people who committed suicide jumped in March that year when the business year ended for most firms. The year before, significant numbers of small and medium-size enterprises began failing due to a credit crunch. The current situation in which a large number of workers, mainly irregular workers, are losing jobs, has spawned fears that 2009 could be a similarly appalling year.
In view of the situation, the National Police Agency has decided to compile and issue a monthly report on the number of people who have killed themselves. If everything goes according to schedule, the January figures will be made public this month.