TOKYO — The number of Japanese who committed suicide declined last year, but remained above 30,000 for the 13th straight year, with a sharp jump in deaths by those citing grim job prospects, a government report said yesterday.
Japan has for years had one of the world’s highest suicide rates.
In all, 31,690 people killed themselves last year, a 3.5 percent decrease from the year before. Many cited depression, economic hardships, and job-related concerns, according to the annual report by the National Police Agency.
The number of people who committed suicide indicating “failure to get jobs’’ rose to 424, up 20 percent from the year before and more than doubling from 180 in 2007, the report said. About one-third were in their 20s, including new graduates seeking jobs.
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