How COVID contributed to a worrying spike in female suicides in Japan

Tokyo — Japan issued its annual white paper on suicide this week, and the results highlight rising deaths among women, particularly those in "non-regular" employment.

The major daily newspaper Nikkei noted that the sharpest rises in female suicides were among clerical workers (270 deaths, up from the five-year average of 204); other service-sector workers, at 194; sales clerks, at 133; and health care workers, at 174.

"Regular" employees in Japan are generally on full contracts. They tend to earn more and are harder to fire, whereas non-regular workers, which includes part-time and non-contract jobs, may do the same work, but under much less favorable working conditions.